Artemis Fowl, meet Claire Davenport
by Bookworm579
Summary: She found vampires, so why not fairies? Looks like Miss Davenport bit off a little more than she could chew when she crossed Artemis Fowl though.
1. Prologue: A Little Research

**Okay, so here's the dealio: this was actually supposed to be a sequel to another story I started (you can still find it somewhere in the Twilight fics. It's called The Brother I Lost. Feel free to read what I've posted of it.), but I like this one so much better, and thought it would easy enough to understand on its own (you know when you read stuff out of order and you're like 'what da heck is going on…?'). So I decided to just post the first chapter or so and see how people take to it.**

**Reviews are much appreciated, as they allow me to see where my work falls between the lines of awesome and sucky. Oh, and if you find my OC's sue-ish at all, please let me know. Heaven knows I despise cheesy characters, especially when they're written by me.**

**Right then, so enjoy. The first few chapters are sort of just to introduce the OC's, so Artemis and the gang will be introduced a little later. Set after The Time Paradox, though there won't be a lot of spoilers, if any. Okay, seriously now, enjoy.**

…………………………………………………………………….

Upon hearing of the existence of faeries, I was most surprised that such a rumor would be taken seriously. After some amount of research, my morbid curiosity was peaked, and the People were soon all I could think about. I was fascinated, entranced by the sheer beauty and grace of the little people. After my experience with Anthony Rose, a vegetarian-turned vampire who hailed from Forks, I was near the point where I would believe just about everything.

I was even more curious when I found out that faeries had been actually been sighted in Ireland, primarily near the Dublin area. These reports were treated as the ravings of lunatics, but I read up on those who had claimed the sightings and found that very few of them had any records of mental instability or drug use.

I remembered a phenomenon that had occurred several years ago. I looked it up on the internet and, sure enough, there it was in the archives of an old news site.

A boy had disappeared while on holiday in Taiwan. After being missing for nearly three years, he returned to his family in Dublin. The curious thing was that he hadn't aged a day in the time he had been absent. I tracked down the boy's name, but was unable to find it.

My spine was tingling with the need to know more on the subject.

I prowled news sites, papers, forums, anything that may lead me to the boy's identity. It, like many other things for me, became an obsession, a thought-crushing need to _know_. I was 85 positive that the phenomenon had been caused by magic, and I was determined to prove it, to myself if no one else.

After nearly a month of constant searching, I found a name.

His name was Artemis Fowl.


	2. Calling in the Vampire

**Once again, reviews are appreciated.**

……………………….

"Claire, darling," called Georgiana from outside my locked bedroom door, "You really should come down for dinner."

"What a curious name…" I murmured to myself as I pored over the endless articles about the boy from Ireland. Without removing my eyes from the laptop screen, I answered my stepmother, "I'll be down momentarily, just let me finish what I'm doing."

My family fell for that excuse every time.

A lithe grey shape appeared next to me. I tore my gaze from the screen to watch Jessie, my grey hairless cat. She purred and rolled onto her back, allowing me to scratch her belly.

The boy, Artemis, should be at least twenty, though according to a picture I'd found of him, he looked like a teenager still, about my age. He was filthy rich, and frighteningly intelligent. He was as smart as I, at the very least, having submitted several articles to numerous psychology encyclopedias, discovered a few missing elements from the periodic table, and was the inventor of at least a hundred absurdly clever inventions. There was no doubt he was smarter than I after taking all that into consideration.

There was no question: I would need to find this Fowl and observe him.

I smiled, a rare occurrence for me. I had never taken on anything so _big_. Schemes were something I had never attempted, but the sheer thought of stumbling across another supposedly fantastical race was too tempting.

I would set off for Ireland in a week's time. I flipped out a cellular phone and hit 2 on my speed dial.

"Yeah?" answered an obnoxious male voice.

"Anthony," I greeted. The word was a sigh, a breath of relief at hearing his charmingly annoying voice. "It's Claire."

"Oh, hi. What's up?"

I smirked. "I believe I may have stumbled across something as big as vampires. Perhaps bigger."

There was silence on the other line, then, "When do you want me over?"

oOo

I suppose that some recap is in order for those who are not familiar with my story.

My name is Claire Davenport. I am seventeen years of age, petite, with blue eyes and ash blonde hair that is a curious shade of grey/brown. I belong to a wealthy and well known family in Los Angeles. My father is a businessman, a tycoon in the wristwatch industry, and my stepmother, Georgiana, owns a massive cosmetic company. My stepbrother, Myles, once a pathetic, good-for-nothing, loafer, has decided to try his hand at acting.

My biological mother was a renowned doctor and psychologist who died in a car accident when I was but an infant. My father remarried less than a year later, and produced Myles. My late older brother, Joseph, was my only friend. Five years my senior, he was protective and wise. He aided me in my constant struggle against Myles, who for some reason hated me to no end and sought to destroy my way of life.

When I was nine, we learned that Joseph had developed a rare and violent case of lung cancer. Despite all our efforts, he died five years later.

I was distraught. I had loved my brother to the point of obsession, and without him I could not live properly. Myles became despicable, and without Joseph to step in, my world was uprooted, thrown about every which way until it was unrecognizable. Myles got everything he wanted, yachts, a jet, Joseph's room… There was no end, and I found myself retreating into the one sanctuary I had. There was a large walk in closet attached to my room, which I recreated to accommodate all my mothers and Joseph's possessions. I flirted with madness, often collapsing in my sanctuary and hiding there for hours. It was the final straw when Myles breached my one place of refuge.

Last December, I left to go for a month-long holiday, away from Myles and the torment of home. I went to Forks, the last place they would ever think to look for me. There I met Anthony Rose, along with the Cullens and Hales. I discovered they were vampires, and found myself afraid at first, then fascinated. I befriended Anthony, despite the fact that he had tried to feed off my blood multiple times. Anthony reminded me a great deal of Joseph, with his love of gaming and the internet, his fascination with science and technology, his comforting presence. I became very attached to the young vampire, and he became a sort of fill-in for the brother I lost.

We have been friends ever since.

…………………….

**How do you like it so far? Yeah, the chapters are kind of short in the beginning, but they'll get more normal as the story progresses. I'm just trying to see if anyone likes this at all, so… yeah… you know what to do, people.**


	3. Too Much Spare Time

**Okay, I couldn't help myself. Seriously though, if no one reviews I'm just gonna leave it. And that will make me sad.**

**You won't like us when we're sad! Hehe, okay I know that was lame.**

**Oh yeah, disclaimer (smacks forehead). Yeah, well, I'm not Irish, and my name isn't Eoin, so I think that anyone with an IQ over 70 can deduce that I do not own Artemis Fowl nor Twilight. I do, however, own Claire Davenport and Anthony Rose.**

**Alright, onward with the story.**

…………………**..**

It was early/mid June, practically summer. School would be in session until the 13th, meaning I had three days to put together a trip to Ireland. This could be interesting.

I was supposed to have graduated when I was fifteen, however, Georgiana had insisted that I graduate at the age I was supposed to. I had sat around for a few months before deciding to take a few minor college classes such as psychology, physiology, medical sciences, aeronautical sciences, engineering, general sciences along those lines. Breaks were fun, but I needed to stimulate my brain. Once I graduated, I would be free for the summer.

I was scraping together my belongings when he came. I had the car, the luggage, and Jessie. All I needed was for Anthony to arrive.

The tiniest gust of wind announced his presence. I turned from where I'd been kneeling over my suitcase, and saw him sprawled across my bed. He was paler than I, though well muscled, with a pair of deep black eyes and messy golden blonde hair.

"Nice pad you got here," he commented, his chin resting on his hands.

I smiled as I bade, "Please keep your shoes off the bed." I walked up to him as he stood and embraced him.

"So what's this I hear about you discovering something bigger than vampires?"

I released him and brought him to my laptop. "I first heard about this on some 'fact or hoax' site, and out of sheer boredom decided to investigate."

"Homework boring you?"

I sighed, "Most definitely. But that's beside the point. Look at this…"

I opened up the silly website and ran through the archives. I clicked on a link dated several months ago, which opened a separate window containing the video.

A lone figure, a considerable distance away, appeared to be flying. It was difficult to make out, however, due to the quality of the recording device, so it looked like a grayish/greenish figure against an overcast sky.

The caption read as follows: _Friend or foe? Is this a fantastical being, such as an elusive fairy, or something else?_

"Well," said Anthony when the clip was finished. "What does that tell us?"

"I e-mailed the administrators to ask them exactly what device was used. It took me two weeks to sort out the calculations, but according to the ratio of the creature's size and the true distance from which this was recorded, the figure in this video should be approximately three feet tall."

He grinned. "You make it sound so easy."

"Thank you," I replied, keeping the smug smirk off of my face. Dear God, those calculations had been so wretchedly frustrating.

"So what does that mean?"

"Either this is a midget with a highly advanced jetpack… or a fairy."

"A fairy? Are you serious?"

"Perfectly. Upon further research, I found a few common denominators in the majority of faery legends and lore: all faeries are small in stature, reaching no greater than about three and a half feet; not all faeries have wings (I thought that jetpack looked mechanical); all faeries have a sort of bible, a book of laws by which they must abide under penalty of death. There are also connections regarding the full moon and rituals and something about acorns…"

"Okay?" Anthony prompted.

"Well," I said, not even bothering to hide my smirk, "There must be some truth if there are constants. I believe the book is the most important of these."

"I'm thinking so too. But what do we have that we can follow?"

"There's a boy in Ireland."

"We were talking about fairies, and now some Irish kid…?" Anthony stopped still and stared at the door.

"Claire?" called Father from outside my room. "Is someone in there?"

"No, I'm just watching television."

"Oh, okay. Don't stay up too late, Starlet."

"Claire," I hissed under my breath, correcting him, then answered him aloud, "Don't worry, I'm getting ready for bed anyway."

The second he was gone I resumed from where I had left off with my guest. "Yes, a boy in Ireland. His name is Artemis Fowl."

"Sounds familiar. Isn't he the guy…"

"The very same. He disappeared for the greater portion of three years, then returned home without explanation and hadn't aged a day. My solution: magic."

"Or something along those lines."

"Exactly."

"But how can we be sure that it's magic? It could be some sort of phenomenon… or drugs…" I snorted. He would know, since he had been a normal human teenager during the sixties. He had been under the influence while driving with friends and had gotten in a horrid accident. A vampire named Carlisle Cullen had taken pity on him and made him one of his kind. Anthony had lived as a normal vampire for some years, alone and feeding off of humans, but he befriended me and turned vegetarian (meaning he fed off of animals).

"We will observe him, then hack his computers and try to find something useful. I believe he may be part fairy."

"Alright," Anthony said, completely supporting my obviously mad scheme. I smiled at his loyalty. "So what's keeping us from flying on over to the emerald isle right now?"

I growled. "_Graduation_."

……………………..

**Please let me know how you like this, folks.**


	4. One Heck of a Graduation

**Wow, I didn't expect you people to like it this much. Bookworm is very happy to hear this . **

**Alright, so I'll try to update as much as possible. School is starting up for me really soon, so I don't know how much free time I'll have. If I don't update for a while, then you know why.**

**After this chapter I'll be introducing Artemis and the gang, for those who are wondering where he is.**

**Oh yeah, disclaimer: I don't own Artemis Fowl. I don't own Twilight. End of Story.**

………………

Ah, Graduation. A day most students looked forwards to. A day I should have had two years ago.

Anthony and I plotted exactly how the whole thing would play out, from Graduation to getting Artemis to admit he was in league with the faeries. And even if the entire thing happened to be a wild goose chase, it would still be quite an adventure. I'd never felt such a sense of spontaneity. We'd stayed in my room, planning, researching, arranging. I had to leave sometimes to perform daily human tasks, such as eating and bathing, but other than that I rarely left.

I was looking forward to Graduation more and more, as Anthony's love of tricks was evident in his plans for our grand exit. I was literally going out with a bang.

I stood with my classmates, wearing a crimson cap and gown over my absolutely criminal school uniform. It consisted of a red and black plaid skirt that came to my knees, a white button-up shirt, and a tie to match to match the skirt. I hated red and black, so naturally they were the school colors of the ridiculous highschool Georgiana had chosen for me, aptly named _Dirge_field, School for the Gifted and Artistic. I detested every inch of the place, and was so glad to be leaving it, especially in the manner I had planned.

I fiddled with a piece of my shoulder length, flipped out hair as I watched the rooftops.

"Quit being nervous," Anthony whispered in my ear from behind me. I started.

I inched away from my peers and whispered back, "You're supposed to be somewhere _other than here_." I wondered why he hadn't contacted me mentally. Anthony had a knack for opening channels between minds, allowing him to read minds and communicate with another person through telepathy. He was not quite proficient at this technique, however, thus causing nearby people to occasionally see flashes of his thoughts and memories. That was how I found out about how he became a vampire back in the 1960's.

"Chill, missy," he bade with a chuckle. Anthony adjusted his wide-brimmed hat for the umpteenth time. Though he had yet to explain why, he had warned me that vampires could not be exposed to direct sunlight. Anthony was also wearing a green sweater, gardening gloves, long jeans, and boots. "I swear, if the Volturi ever got wind of the risks I was taking…"

"Volturi?" He pressed his lips together, silent. I grudgingly allowed the subject to drop.

"What time do you have to make that whole speech thing?"

"In exactly ten minutes. Go back to your post. If there is one slip-up, whether it damages person or property, there could be suing. And that would delay us by a good few weeks, at the very least."

"That would suck," he agreed, and was gone in a heartbeat.

I stared at the stage, where my peers accepted their diplomas with smiles and happy tears. The reality finally sunk in: This was _it_. The moment I touched the diploma, I was free. I could do 

just about anything I wanted. Father would continue paying me, of that I was sure, and I had already earned a great deal from my various investments. I wouldn't have to work a day, and I could go anywhere and do anything I pleased. No more of my silly career-centric father, no more of the frivolous and absurd Georgiana, and most importantly, _no more Myles_.

I grinned openly, no longer caring about the uniform, or the ridiculous school, or anything else. I only wished Joseph could have been there.

"Claire Davenport, could you please come up?"

I composed myself and straightened my attire before ceremoniously stepping up the stairs. One of my teachers, Professor Parish, stood there beaming.

"Congratulations, my star pupil," she said, misty-eyed. I had never really liked her. She had a tendency to talk down to me, though I had already proven that I could teach her English Grammar class. I kept a cautious, stern look on my face.

"Thank you, Professor," was my stoic reply. She handed me my diploma and gestured for me to take the front of the stage. I looked down at the simple piece of paper, scarcely able to contain my pure ecstasy. I was thankfully able to keep myself under control as I stood front and center.

"I would like to begin by stating that on behalf of the school, thank you all for coming." It wouldn't kill me to pretend to like this place for just a few minutes. "I'm sorry to say this speech will be brief, and perhaps a little unorthodox." I paused for effect, my hands clasped behind my back. "During the course of our lives, we experience hardships, obstacles made to make us or break us. Some say that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and I agree with them one hundred percent." Another good pause. My audience was watching me intently. "School is no exception. During my time here at Dirgefield, I have experienced many hardships, the most detrimental being the passing of my dear brother Joseph." I caught sight of my family in the audience. Father sat with a small smile, Georgiana dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief, and Myles, ever the bubbly one, kept his eyes fixed on me with an annoyed glare. "He attended this same school with me. He was my constant companion, my protector, my friend. I loved him very dearly… I will not lie to you: his death has crushed me, leaving wounds that will probably never completely heal. That said, I believe I have recovered enough to see just what he would have wanted." This was where it would get exciting. I stared at the rooftops of the school buildings again. "I've realized that Joseph would not have wanted me to part from this place in my usual dreary manner, despite the fact that I am a very dreary person. I have recently obtained a spark of spontaneity." The audience was beginning to stir, to look at each other in confusion. They sensed the trap, knew somewhere in the back of their minds the entropy that was to ensue. "You see, I had an epiphany recently: How would I like the students of this school to remember me? As the awful nasty thing that liked to hide in the library? Or someone who added a little color to her life by in fact—," I smirked deviously, an expression that no doubt would send chills up the spines of almost every listener in my audience. "—going out with a _bang_."

There was a split second of silence before the chaos erupted. All around the audience, from the tops of the school buildings, shot fireworks of every color I had been able to find. Shocked and startled screams came from the audience as they were bathed in colorful light. Anthony had done a wonderful job at placing them.

Firecrackers dropped onto the stage around me, and a large banner unfurled from the framework that arched over the stage. I spread my arms theatrically, milking every bit of brilliance I possibly could from the scene. Anthony had made the banner, which hung directly above me, so I could only hope he hadn't put any insulting images or crude language on it. I 

grinned wickedly and blew a kiss. "I bid you all farewell!" I called, then made for the exit, sprinting as fast as I possibly could.

I took my cap and tossed it into the audience like a frisbee before I dove off the stage to be caught by Anthony. There was far too much commotion for us to be noticed.

People screamed and scattered about like ants under a magnifying glass. The roar of the fireworks drowned all thought. I glanced in my family's direction to see my father pinching the bridge of his nose, Georgiana holding him tightly, and Myles leering at me. I slowed ever-so-slightly under his hateful gaze, but Anthony pulled me along by my sleeve, causing me to return my focus to the task at hand: getting out of there as quickly as possible.

"Now everyone!" screamed the dean, a stout and bearded old man, "P-please don't panic!"

My vampire friend and I bolted from the chaotic scene, laughing like fools as we spilled into the limousine.

"J-Jeffery," I gasped as I glanced out the window to see the school, above which still blossomed colorful fireworks. They'd go off for several more seconds, and by then we'd be far from here. "We need to get to the house immediately."

Kindly old Jeffery caught on immediately, chuckling and shaking his head as he realized the fireworks were our doing. "You're completely mad, Miss Davenport."

"That I am," I sighed as we pulled out, "That I am."

oOo

We reached the house within minutes. I called as I waved goodbye to the chauffer, "I'll send you the video, Jeffery, Anthony got some amazing footage of the whole thing, or so he says."

"Thank you, Miss Davenport. If you don't mind, I should get back to your family."

"Thank _you_, Jeffery. I hope to see you again sometime. Though who knows… now that I've graduated, you may never see me again!"

"I certainly hope that's not the case," he replied with a last wave. The second he was past the front gate, Anthony scooped me up and ran at vampire-speed into the spacious garage of the home. In the same amount of time it took to take a deep breath, he ran and stopped just in front of my favorite car: My silver Jaguar convertible. Our belongings were already packed in the trunk. I had given the instruction for a maid to place Jessie in her carrier and set her beside my car at exactly 1:00, about the time we'd get home.

She howled in confusion just beside the car, and I reached down to pick her up. I brought the carrier to eye level and said reassuringly, "Calm down, Jessie my dear. We're going on a nice long vacation." The grey hairless cat stared up at me with the glossy blue and black orbs that were her eyes.

Anthony hopped over the car door into his seat and buckled his seatbelt.

"Move it, Claire. We have to be out of here before anyone notices we're gone."

"Of course," was my reply. I pried off my gown, tossing it into the backseat, and jumped into the passenger seat as my companion had. No sooner had I set Jessie in my lap than Anthony had driven at almost 90 mph from the house.

"You know the way to the airport?" I shouted above the wind around us as I gripped the armrest. Jessie let out a howl of panic.

"Yeah," Anthony answered, not at all fazed by the fact that he was driving at an absurd speed. He was pulled into a parking space within ten minutes of taking off.

I leaped from the car and snatched up my bags, then strode briskly towards the hangar. Anthony was by my side in an instant. I looked back to see the cover on the vehicle, to prevent theft.

"You have the tickets?"

"We're not going by public transportation."

The vampire gaped at me for a long moment before breathing, "You don't mean…"

I laughed heartily as we broke into a run, "We most definitely are. My brother won't need it for a while."

He cackled maniacally with me. "You're so twisted!"

So far I was pulling off more tricks within one hour than I had in my entire lifetime. I wasn't normally a trouble-maker, but the sheer elation of being free of my ludicrous family was exhilarating.

We sprinted through the hanger where the airport kept private vehicles till we reached Myles' jet. "You're pushing your luck with this, you know."

"I've weighed the risks, Anthony," I panted as we ran straight past the pilot I'd hired. "I'd rather be sent to juvenile hall for plane theft than sit around here."

The pilot, recognizing me immediately, hurried to the cockpit. We dumped our luggage in a corner of the spacious air vehicle, and I let Jessie out. The pilot, Johann was his name, buckled himself in and called, "Where to, Miss?"

"To Dublin Airport."

He whistled. "That's a little far."

"I could pay you extra if you…"

"No, no. I'm just not sure if your brother…"

"Stepbrother, Johann, stepbrother," I corrected. "He won't be needing it. You'll be back here before he even thinks it's gone."

He gazed at me warily. "This is awfully close to being illegal, Miss Davenport."

My eyes narrowed. "I wish to disappear, Johann, and if you cannot get me to Dublin Airport _now_, I will have to delay this disappearance, and that would only serve to make me angry."

Anthony nodded vigorously, his eyes widened mockingly. "You don't want to screw around with Miss Davenport here, dude." Johann sighed.

"Alright miss. You may want to take a seat."

I collapsed across one of the several black leather chairs in the belly of the plane, still a little out of breath from my sprint. I loosened my tie and kicked off my black pumps.

Anthony did the same in the chair across from me. I sighed, paused for a moment, then got up and sauntered to the miniature bar, behind which was a small fridge. I pulled out a large bottle and a pair of champagne flutes. My vampire companion jumped from his seat and leaned against the bar.

"Are you really…?"

"Relax, my fanged friend, it's only sparkling cider. Myles keeps some in here whenever there are parents accompanying him and his friends."

"And when there aren't?"

My eyes narrowed. "His motto is 'what they don't know won't hurt them'."

"Oh. Say no more."

I shook the bottle slightly and popped the top, sending showers of the cider spraying about. I giggled most uncharacteristically as I poured our glasses. Though, being a vampire, Anthony didn't need to drink, he still took a glass. I took mine, and raised it with his.

"To going out with a bang."

"To going out with a bang," I echoed. We clinked our glasses together and sipped.

"So what exactly are we?" he asked as he dragged his finger around the rim of the glass, making the famous resonating sound.

"Beg pardon?" I inquired around a sip. The cider was delightfully sweet and tangy, and made my tongue tingle.

"What are we? Like, the Dynamic Duo, or Beauty and the Beast." He grinned and said teasingly, "I call dibs on Beauty."

I rolled my eyes and thought. I took another sip, than said. "I like to think of us as sort of like Bonnie and Clyde… so I'm thinking… Partners in Crime?"

Anthony smirked. "Partners in Crime." We clinked our glasses and drank again.

"Say," called Johann from the cockpit, "What're you kids going to be doing in Dublin anyway?"

I shrugged, not even caring about the madness of what I said next. "Hunting faeries."

………………….

**That chapter was a little longer than the others I think… Keep reviewing, and I'll update when I can.**


	5. The Break in Part 1

**Thanks for the reviews everyone, I really appreciate them. Like I said earlier, I'm going to try to update as much as possible.**

**Disclaimer: I wished I owned them, but I don't. Artemis Fowl and Twilight belong to their respective owners, who aren't me.**

……………**..**

On almost the opposite side of the globe, a wealthy Irish teenager chuckled as he watched a news report on his computer.

"Butler," he beckoned with a smirk, "Look at this."

The large manservant leaned over his charge's shoulder, peering at the screen.

"_A sunny June morning in southern California brings graduation for Dirgefield Highschool for the Gifted and Artistic," _began a serious-looking reporter. _"However, that's not all it brings. Seventeen-year-old Claire Davenport, who graduated with honors on the same day, simultaneously set off over 20 different fireworks as she left the stage. She, along with her alleged boyfriend disappeared soon after. Her family has been extremely worried, as she has shown symptoms of mental instability before. Here's her brother now, Myles Davenport."_

A boy, maybe fifteen-years-old, with darkest brown hair and hazel eyes stared at the camera, the epitome of an innocent young teen.

_"H-hello," _he said unsurely._ "While my parents are busy with the search, I agreed to appear so that I could plead for your help. You see, Claire is sick. She… she never really got over her brother, and she…" _His eyes began to fill.

"It would be a tad more believable if he didn't cry," the Irish teen thought aloud. "A teenager his age wouldn't cry this openly, so my theory is that either he is mentally unstable himself, or he's considering going into acting. I've read up on Foaly's file on the Davenports. The father owns a wristwatch company and the stepmother owns a cosmetic company. The other two members of the original family, the mother and Claire's elder brother, are deceased."

Butler shook his head, sighing. "You know Foaly hates it when you hack his system. You could have asked nicely. And what do you mean you've already read up on their file?"

"Oh, I watched this an hour ago. I simply thought you'd get a kick out of it."

"A kick out of what, sir?"

"This next clip. She must have worked hours on this, perhaps days…"

The clip changed to a new one, one that appeared to be taken by a digital camera.

A girl stood front and center, wearing a cap and gown. She was fairly short, with a fair complexion, and small, sharp features. She had large, cold blue eyes that had an intelligent sort of glint. Her hair was cropped and flipped outwards, and was a pale ash blonde.

_"…I've realized that Joseph would not have wanted me to part from this place in my usual dreary manner, despite the fact that I am a very dreary person. I have recently obtained a spark of spontaneity."_She scanned the audience, her gaze holding a frightening precision._ "You see, I had an epiphany recently: How would I like the students of this school to remember me? As the awful nasty thing that liked to hide in the library? Or someone who added a little color to her life by in fact—," _She smirked deviously,_ "—going out with a bang."_

There was a split second of silence before the chaos erupted. All around the audience, from the tops of the school buildings, shot fireworks of a variety of colors. Shocked and startled screams came from the audience as they were bathed in colorful light.

The Irish teen chuckled, "This must have taken ages for her to plan." He grinned at the banner that unfurled, which read, 'So long, suckers!'

Butler shook his head with a small smile. "You get your kicks from weird places."

Artemis grinned as his manservant left then proceeded to e-mail the video to Minerva and Foaly.

**Simply hilarious! My personal favorite touch is the banner.**

Foaly replied within several minutes.

**Nice XD**

Artemis sat back in his chair, crossing his arms behind his head. He checked the time on his computer. 8:13.

He yawned and muttered to himself, "I suppose I should get down to dinner."

oOo

"We'll be landing shortly," reported Johann. Anthony stopped spinning about in his bar stool and took another swig of sparkling cider. We'd already gone through two bottles of the stuff, now finishing our third, and I had raided the fridge for some leftover grilled chicken breasts, a box of graham crackers, and some caviar. During our ten-hour trip, we'd gone over our plan of action, which was for Anthony to break into Fowl Manor to learn the security system, then when the family was absent we would go in and hack his computer with a nifty little device that I (well, mostly I. Joseph had made the general blueprints for it long ago) had invented. I had discovered, much to my surprise and displeasure, that I could not hack his system alone.

"Guess we better clean up in here?" Anthony sighed, looking around at the mess we'd made with the cider and such.

"Oh no, Myles has maids for that. He won't be using this for at least a month, when his friends return from their various trips with their respective families. And besides, Father will probably use it several times beforehand, so even if Myles were to check the records of his jet's destinations, he most likely wouldn't be able to pick out which one was ours."

"What a day," Anthony said, spinning in his bar stool once more.

I finished off my cider and yawned. "Yes."

"Tired?"

I nodded. "Time difference, combined with our grand exit."

"It's what time there?"

"About 1 in the morning, I'm guessing. You don't have to worry about getting a decent hotel, I already made reservations."

He laughed softly. "You think of everything."

oOo

We reached the Hotel Dublin within the hour.

Our suite was enormous and rich, designed to look chic and modern. I collapsed on the king-sized bed and yawned.

"You sure know how to disappear in style," Anthony whistled. "Alright, so we have our hotel, we're in Dublin… shall I commence with phase 1?"

"No," I answered, "No, I would actually like you to go out and explore your surroundings first."

"Meaning?"

"Get a feel for the city. Observe the kinds of people around here, learn the street layout, that sort of thing. I need to sort some things out then get some rest; I'm quite tired."

"Oh, that's right: you have to sleep and stuff. That sucks," he remarked with a teasing smirk.

I pressed my lips together and rolled my eyes. "You'll commence tomorrow night, at nine o'clock." I got up and handed him a small earpiece. "Bluetooth, so your hands will be free, and it's also more discreet. And," I fastened a small electronic bug to his shirt, "A camera. I'd like to see what you see."

"Nine o'clock, got it."

"Don't be late."

oOo

"Claire!" Anthony hissed in my ear through the Bluetooth device the following night. I sat up and yawned, then opened up various windows on my laptop, which had been sitting next to me. I had taken a light nap before commencing with phase 1.

"I have a fix on your location. You're just outside the manor, correct?"

"Yep. I can feel the sensors all over the place. It's creepy, man." He cackled quietly. "Dude, this is like Mission Impossible."

"I'm sure you can do it. The heat seekers can't see you, and if you keep moving at vampire speed, neither will the security cameras."

"Are you sure that's it?"

"There are motion sensors if that's what you mean."

"Yeah, I see those. This place feels funny, though."

"What are you sensing, Anthony?"

"Dunno. I don't think it's sensors though."

"Well, whenever you feel comfortable, you may proceed."

"Yessum." He skirted the manor, climbed an adjacent tree, bounded over the stone wall that surrounded the manor, and sprang into action.

I didn't dare say anything as he easily sprinted at a blinding speed towards the manor, leaping and twisting away from various sensors as he did so. He was pure art, a gazelle bounding effortlessly up the hill to the large manor.

"Lovely architecture," I remarked. "What is it… twelfth century?"

"Do I look like an architect?" Anthony growled as he stopped at the stone wall of the manor. He held a hand to it. "The walls are three feet thick, I'm guessing."

"We're not breaking in, Anthony."

"Yeah, yeah, point of infiltration. On it." He moved at vampire speed around the house then sighed, "A little help?"

"The only thing I can think of is the septic ta—,"

"_No_"

I laughed. "Alright, I'll find another way. Let's see…"

I looked over the satellite picture of the manor, trying to think of a way in that wouldn't involve Anthony having to crawl through excrement. "Hm…" I murmured. "Are there any sensors over that window at the very top? The one that looks as though it goes to the attic?"

"I can't see from here. I'm gonna have to climb up."

"Very well, but be quiet."

oOo

There was a loud and intrusive _THUD_ that came from the room next door, causing Artemis to start.

"What on earth was that?" he murmured to his manservant. Butler shrugged, staring at the room next door intently. He started getting up, but the Irish teen held up a hand and drew a small silver pistol that he had promised Butler he would always keep on his person when the man had grown too old to be his bodyguard.

Artemis crept to the door that led to the next room while Butler gripped a phone in case he had to call the police

oOo

"That's not quiet!" I barked.

"Shut up," the vampire hissed. "I'd like to see you try to scale a wall with barely any handholds like Lara Croft."

He had leapt about a dozen feet into the wall and had gripped the top edge of a large stone. He was now hauling himself up to the window I had pointed out to him.

"For all you know, he could've been right next to you when you hit the wall!"

"_Shut up_," he growled again as he reached the top and peered through the window. Satisfied, he lifted himself onto the sill, broke a pane to unlock the window, and hopped inside. He paused, waiting for an alarm to sound off. When it didn't, he straightened up and brushed himself off.

"We're in," he said smugly.


	6. The Break in Part 2

**Um… I don't really have anything to say about this chapter. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Them**

………………

Artemis crept to the door that led to the next room, his computer room, while Butler gripped a phone in case he had to call the police. The Irish teen cautiously opened the door and peered inside to see…

"You two," he sighed, quickly stowing his gun, "What have I told you about playing in here?"

His twin four-year-old brothers, Myles and Beckett, had accidentally knocked over a monitor in his computer room. Four identical blue eyes stared up at him.

"S-sorry, Artemis," said Beckett.

"Is everything alright, Artemis?" called Butler.

"Only the twins, friend."

The manservant let out a sigh of relief, then remarked, "It's long past your bedtime, little ones."

Artemis scooped up his younger brothers and brought them out of the computer room. "Butler's right. What are you two doing here?"

"Sorry," said Myles, "We were trying to play on the computer like you were."

"You make it look easy!" sighed Beckett.

The seventeen-year-old genius smiled. "Now why would you want to do what I do? I'm so very, very boring, and there isn't anything on those computers that is even remotely appealing to two young ragamuffins such as yourselves."

Myles asked, "What's 'remotely' mean?" at the same time Beckett asked, "What does 'appealing' mean?"

Artemis chuckled. He liked it when they asked him questions. "Remotely means a little or somewhat. Appealing is close to likable or pleasing."

Myles thought as Artemis laid him and his brother down in their bed. "So what you mean is there's nothing on the computer that's even a little likable?"

"That's about right. Now get some sleep. Tomorrow's a big day: Mother and Father are taking us all to Disney World in Paris." He smiled and shook his head. "It's hard to believe you're turning five."

Beckett scowled. "Not _that _unbelievable."

"Alright, alright. Try to get some sleep. I'll be down in the foyer, waiting for Minerva and Beau."

"'Kay, Artemis," the twins yawned in unison.

oOo

"How cute," I hissed under my breath as I slipped from a nearby room and sprinted down the hall at vampire speed, nearly invisible to the naked eye. I ran right past the twins' room, never stopping for an instant, and on to the other side of the manor.

"Security room…" I murmured, "_Security room_... Claire?"

"Keep going this way. I believe… Down that room!"

"On it." I dove into a room that was full of monitors, each of which held an image of various rooms and points in the house. "Okay, now what?"

"Find the panel to his security system and disarm it. It'll make things easier when we go in tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes. You heard Artemis; they're going to Paris tomorrow."

I shrugged dismissively as the panel caught my eye. "Bingo. What's the code?"

"No idea. Look at the keys." I leaned in. Some of them were worn.

"I've got 4, 6, 5, and 9."

"4, 6, 5, and 9…." I heard the clatter of her typing. "It's not a birthday of him or anyone in his family… It's not an anniversary… It's not his age, of course… Keep looking around the room, Anthony, there may be some sort of clue."

I sighed and began to search. There weren't a lot of unfamiliar smells in this house, for which I was glad, so it'd be easier to tell if someone was coming. The parents were asleep, the twins were asleep, Artemis was in the foyer… "I wonder who Minerva and Beau are?"

"I wonder too. Let me see." More fast typing. I swear, she needed to get off that laptop once in a while. "I can't find anything on a 'Minerva' associated with Master Fowl. How curious."

I muttered, "Yeah, curious," and yanked open a locked filing drawer with a noisy _Kla-klang!_.

"Don't do that! If we can't disarm it, you'll just bring me in the same way you went in!" I grumbled something unintelligible. "What was that?"

"I said 'no problemo, capp'n'," I lied with a slight grin. I could just see her roll her eyes. A lavender sticky note looked up at me innocently from a filing drawer, and I picked it up for inspection.

"What's that, Anthony?"

"A sticky note that says 'Holly'. Wow, so amazingly helpful." My voice was sarcastic. I stuck it back where I found it and moved on.

I searched in silence for another minute or so, this time trying to be more discreet and all that, before Claire gasped suddenly, "Holly! Anthony, punch in 46559!"

I tidied up the mess I'd made and punched it in. A sophisticated-sounding female voice chimed, "_Greetings, Master Artemis. Is there anything you'd like me to do today?"_

"Ooh," Claire and I breathed in unison.

I stared at it for a moment, gaping slightly, until Claire sighed, "I think it requires a voice confirmation. We'll have to switch it to manual before we do anything else."

"I think I saw an instruction manual before. Hang on." Sure enough, I found it in the filing drawer I'd broken earlier. I flipped through the pages. "'Setting the system to manual mode' It's in chapter four. Okay…" I read, punched in a few keys, and heard, "_Manual mode activated._" "It says in here we can disarm just one room."

"Do it. One on the ground level, if possible."

I had no idea what to put for a specific room. I glanced around until my eyes rested on a layout of the house, upon which they had written codes for each room.

"It's so convenient, it makes me sick." I punched in the code for a downstairs bathroom.

"Alright, now set it back to its original setting and get out of there."

oOo

"Ah, Minerva," Artemis grinned as the French teenage genius and her brother tiredly came through the door. He patted Beau's head. "You've grown, Beau." The young boy beamed.

"Zank you, Artemis," the boy said with a thick French accent. He smiled angelically. "My zeester says my Eenglish eez getting much better."

Artemis smiled back. "It is. I'll bring you two to your rooms."

"Fowl Manor," Minerva sighed, her accent thick as well, though not as much as her eight-year-old brother's. "It's been a while."

"Too long," Artemis agreed. "You have to stop putting off your visits." He stopped at a room and gestured to Beau. "This is your room. Minerva's is just next door, and there is a restroom down the hall so that you can get ready for bed."

"Zank you."

Artemis and Minerva continued on to her room in silence. It had been months since they'd actually seen each other, and both had serious catching up to do.

Artemis took it upon himself to start right then. "So…. Have you done anything… interesting, lately?"

"Oh, not really," she said coyly. Artemis remembered all too well how her warm blue eyes sparkled when she spoke like that. "I've just been working on getting my Nobel Prize."

"Oh really? What are you going after this time?"

She smirked before she slipped into her room, "Vampires."

……………….

**I'll see if I can update tomorrow. It depends on how much homework and stuff I have, but since it's really early still the work load should be easy.**


	7. Just a Little Awkward

**Thank you for waiting so patiently guys. Homework is hard T.T**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Artemis Fowl or Twilight. If I did, I'd be a very rich, very happy person.**

……………**.**

The next day I woke to find Anthony sprawled on the couch, playing something on his PSP.

"Hey, Claire," he greeted absently, completely absorbed in his game. I yawned and scratched my head. Jessie jumped onto the bed next to me and meowed for me to feed her. I scratched behind her ears a little, sat up, and went to get her some food.

"I feel very silly at the moment," I admitted as I knelt beside her food and water dishes. My vampire companion barely looked up.

"Why?"

"Because I'm about to break into a billionaire's home to prove the existence of fairies."

He shrugged. "Eh, you found out vampires are real. Why not fairies?"

"I don't know. I have the feeling that something is going to go very wrong, however."

"You worry too much." I sighed, hoping he was right.

"So you don't think I'm completely insane for doing this and dragging you along?"

He didn't say anything as he tried to force himself not to snicker.

I rolled my eyes. "You're such a confidence-booster."

He laughed. "Come on, let's go do your mad scheme."

oOo

Anthony drove at his usually absurd speed to the manor. With me on his back, he gracefully trounced up the hill towards the manor as he had done the night before, circling around the building as he searched for our entrance. His abrupt stop sent my head spinning.

"Here," he said simply, setting me down on the ground. I collapsed to my knees for a few brief moments, gasping heavily for breath, before I composed myself and stood. Anthony effortlessly lifted me up to the window, the lock of which I shattered, and helped me into the extravagant bathroom.

"Oh my God," I muttered in disgust.

Anthony leaped in soon after and cackled, "Oh my God is right. The bathroom alone makes your contemporary LA mansion look like a hovel!" I shot him a look, then rolled my eyes.

"Come on. I need to get to his computers."

"Yeah, yeah," he chuckled, "This way."

I followed him down a series of hallways, growing more and more irritated at the sheer classiness of the architecture and décor. I had wanted to do something nice with the house, like a colonial Spanish theme, or something Victorian, but _no_. _Myles_ had to convince our parents to do everything modern and artsy. Half of the exterior was composed of glass and brushed metal, to take in the view of the Californian coastline, which in itself wasn't so terrible, but the interior was covered in nonsensical 'sculptures' and 'paintings', few of which could actually be considered art.

"I'm starting to hate your brother more and more," Anthony growled, reading my current thoughts.

I growled back, "Stepbrother, Anthony. And you have no idea how much I loathe him."

"I think I do. He's _awful_."

"Horrendous."

"Terrible."

"Idiotic."

"Stupid."

The tiniest of smirks formed at my lips as we came up with more names to call my notorious stepbrother, and before I knew it, we were in the computer room.

"Alright," I said, reaching into the backpack I'd brought along. I pulled out a complex-looking machine that roughly resembled a small remote. "Let's look for some fairies."

oOo

"Father, can we go on the log flume again?" asked Beckett.

Artemis Fowl Senior sighed, but smiled. "Alright, one more go. Anymore, and I think we'll be so wet that no restaurants will let us in for lunch!"

"Go on ahead," said Artemis as he made his way to a bench where Minerva was sitting. "I've had my fill of water rides for the day."

The Irish teen, soaking wet, sat next to his friend, grinning slightly.

"You're having fun," laughed the French girl in mock disbelief. "The great Artemis Fowl is having fun at an amusement park." Artemis rolled his eyes.

"It really isn't that big of—," _BEEP!_

"What's that?"

The boy genius turned his ring and answered his phone. "This is Artemis."

"Hey!" He recognized his elven friend, Holly, immediately.

"Holly! What a pleasant surprise."

"Yeah, I got some time off, so I decided to come aboveground. I should be at your house in less than an hour."

"Oh dear, you've caught me at a bad time. I'm in Paris right now…" _BEEP!_ "Hold on, I have another call." Artemis twisted his ring again. "Yes?"

"Artemis, it's Foaly."

"Ah, Foaly. Holly's on the other line—,"

"Yeah whatever. Listen, you hacked my system, right?"

"Yes, about that—,"

"Okay, so I was giving you some payback, when I noticed someone else was on your network."

"_What?_"

"Oh, so that's not supposed to be like that?" Foaly asked in mock surprise.

"No…" Artemis' head began to spin. "The only way anyone could hack my system would be to use a scrambling device, and they'd have to be on site to do that…"

"Hey, Artemis!" called Myles.

"Hold on, Foaly. I'll call you back… Myles, I need to ask you something."

"Yes?"

"Yesterday, in the computer room, did you notice anything odd?"

"Um, no." Artemis let out a sigh of relief. "But we heard a loud thump outside, which made us drop the monitor."

The Irish teen froze. "Er, Mother?"

"Yes, Arty?"

"I'm not feeling well. At all."

"Oh, that's terrible. Do you need something to drink or…?"

"I think I may have to cut my trip short." His tone was brusque, distant. Minerva patted his shoulder sympathetically.

"I'll bring him home. I told you not to eat that sandwich, Artemis."

He whispered under his breath, "I think it may be a little more than the sandwich."

Minerva paled slightly as she steered him away from their group towards the amusement park exit. "What's wrong?" she asked when they were out of earshot.

"I need to call Holly back," he said as he twisted his ring. "There is a possibility that something very, very dire has happened."

oOo

"Jeez, could this stupid thing _take_ any longer?"Anthony growled. I sighed.

"I'm sorry, it's not supposed to take this long. There are quite a few encoded files." The hacking device had already taken almost two hours, and our patience was wearing thin.

The vampire sniffed, "If I were human, I'd be raiding the fridge."

"Of course you would. Speaking of fridges, could you please get me something to eat? I'm famished."

He was gone and back with a bowl of sliced apples, oranges, and pears within 120 seconds.

"Thank you," I muttered as I clicked out of a window. "I'm in."

"Shweet." My vampire companion pulled up a chair next to me. I tapped several keys to open Fowl's documents, however, much to my annoyance, the shortcuts were ineffective. Anthony groaned. "More codes?"

"No." I made a face. "He has a Mac."

"And?"

"I work with pc. Not a problem, I'll just… click."

"Fine."

I clicked in silence for several long minutes. The tedious process of moving my cursor from one end of the screen to another grew boring very quickly. I let out a quiet sigh as I skimmed through each file, each time being disappointed.

"Could you go any slower?"

"Quite a bit, yes," I chuckled. He rolled his eyes, slightly tense. I stopped laughing and made myself perk up a little. It helped when I found an encoded folder that read, 'People'. I set my expensive little machine to work decoding it. "Alright," I yawned, "I think this may be it. I simply need to decode it and look through its contents.

"Well then do it _fast_e_r_..."

I boredly opened his documents. "Why, can you hear someone's thoughts…?" My brow furrowed as I came across one labeled 'The Book'. "Hello there," I murmured to myself.

"Yeah, I'm definitely hearing thoughts now."

I smirked ever-so-slightly as I came across translated, scanned pages which were originally composed of a frightfully complex language. "Tell me about them."

"She's a chick, can't tell the age, a cop of sorts, something about a 'Sector Eight' or whatever…." He paused then whispered, "She's flying."

"Commercial or private?"

"Claire," he said with more emphasis. "She's _flying_. As in nothing between her and the air. She's headed to the manor."  
I paused with the cursor on the print button, looking back at him confusedly.

He added, "There's something else."

"Yes?"

"Her name is Holly."

There was a moment of silence before I regained my composure. I tapped the print button and calmly collected the numerous pages of data on the Book. "This will have to do for now. Perhaps we can find a clue from this Book. It's all like pieces of a mystery, isn't it…?"

"She has friends on her tail."

Quickly realizing just how urgent the situation was, I began to hastily unhook my device from the USB port and close out of needless windows. I still had almost a dozen pages left to print.

"Claire, we have to move—,"

"I only need sixty seconds."

"We don't have sixty seconds! Fowl, Minerva, and Holly are in the house."

I paled.

"We're caught."

"We still have a chance, but that's only if we leave now."

"It's almost finished…"

We stopped still at the sound of distant voices. "They're a few halls away. We're too late." He snatched me around the waist at the same time I snatched up my papers and turned off the computer. The terminal would return to its original settings upon rebooting, leaving no sign we had been there.

Anthony sprinted down the hall at vampire speed, flung open a door, and spilled into a closet. We sat in silence in the dark room, listening for signs of life beyond the door. My companion pressed his ear to the door, while I peered through the keyhole, waiting, watching…

"_I'm coming down the hall now, Foaly," _said the one I presumed to be Artemis. He was slender and pale, with jet black hair, and eyes that did not match. _"For heaven's sakes… What do you _mean_ you can't get any feed from the computer room?"_

A tall and trim girl with a mane of golden ringlets strode beside him. She had a frightening expression on her face. _"Forget the feed. I suggest we show him just who he's dealing with," _she said in a thick French accent.

_"Master Fowl, your mother called earlier saying you were sick and coming home with Minerva. Are you alright?"_

_"There's someone in the house. We may need Juliet in the event that the situation requires… controlling." _As though to illustrate his true meaning, Artemis Fowl junior slipped a flip-phone from a case on his belt, then at the mere press of a button it swiveled around and folded in various places, instantly changing the phone into a minute pistol. I swallowed.

_"Yessir."_

_"Holly, you remain shielded. We must retain the element of surprise."_

The lack of reply caused me to press against the door and look around. Curiously, there was no one there. I rummaged blindly till my hand closed around a small flashlight, then flipped through my hastily collected stack of papers.

"Holly's a fairy," I hissed as I pressed myself against the door once again, listening.

_Shh, they'll hear us, _Anthony said telepathically.

"She's shielding, invisible. Don't you know what this means?? I'm not insane—!"

My brilliant discovery was interrupted by the opening of the closet door, thus allowing Anthony and me to fall flat on our faces.

Anthony lay growling obscenities under his breath, trying to recover from his injured nose, while I quickly got to my knees and attempted to gather my spilled papers.

"Thank you," I murmured quietly as someone handed a sheet to me. I gathered my papers and knelt quietly under the scrutiny of our discoverers. I looked up and greeted in a low voice, "Artemis Fowl."

Artemis raised one eyebrow a few millimeters. "Claire Davenport?" His gaze flickered to Anthony, questioning.

"The identity of my associate is no one's concern but mine, Master Fowl, if you don't mind."

"I do."

The blonde girl, the one I assumed was Minerva, said to Artemis in a voice just loud enough so I could hear, "Isn't he her alleged 'boyfriend'?"

Anthony and I both made gagging expressions. "Dude, she's like my _sister_! Who the heck said… oh, never mind," he scowled. "I have an idea."

"It's just the thing he would say, the little creature," I hissed.

Artemis looked mildly confused. "I hate to interrupt, but just who are we talking about?"

"No one," Anthony and I said in unison.

Minerva whispered something to Artemis, making the Irish teen nod. _They're going to question us. Like prisoners._ Just then, Butler came onto the scene.

"Juliet's out at the moment, so I…"

His voice trailed off at the sight of two pale, scrawny teenagers sitting before Artemis.

"Er… Artemis?"

"Butler, this is Claire Davenport and her 'alleged boyfriend'—," Anthony and I made faces, "—And apparently they're the ones who sneaked into the manor and hacked into my computer."

"I found the information I needed, however," I hissed, "Holly, your fairy friend, is standing right next to you!"

There was a moment of silence before Artemis chuckled, "I see you came across the children's novel I was writing."

The excitement in my face died. _He's lying, I can sense her plain as day._

_How?_

_I smell her body heat. She smells like the earth… really nice actually…_

I looked over at my companion and realized with some amount of horror that he hadn't fed in several weeks. _Anthony…_

"Miss, you're obviously in need of some sort of…"

"_Don't you dare!_" I growled, my attention snapping back to Artemis. You need help. I had heard the same phrase so many times in my life from Myles and the rest of my family that hearing it from Artemis Fowl set off something in my mind. I grabbed a fistful of papers, stood, 

and waved them in his face. "I have no need of your psychiatric tests, or your minds games, or your psychological nonsense, because I know that fairies exist! It's right here in black and white!"

"It's a book," Artemis said calmly, looking me straight in the eye.

"Yes! A book about your fairy friends!!" I was near shrieking at this point, though I didn't care. I knew I was right, knew that he was toying with me.

_He's contacted them before, a lot._

"I will take the male," I heard Minerva mutter as she peered down her nose at Anthony with narrowed eyes. Anthony glanced briefly at me. I paused and considered my options: go with them and possibly find a way out of this, or make a run for it and risk being hunted down by the authorities.

_Go along with her, _I said silently,_ We can play their game for now._

Anthony left with the blonde French girl.

I was left with Artemis.

I stared up at him, thoughts of all sorts of torture and pain making me tremble. What would he do to me to coax out information? Beating? Drugs? Bamboo shoots under my fingernails?

The Irish genius extended a hand, making me flinch ever-so-slightly. He recoiled, giving me a long, scrutinizing look. I stared at him back, treating me to one of my signature glares. His eyebrows went up a millimeter.

I shrank back slightly, realizing I must have made him angry. Artemis, seeing that physical contact of any kind would get us nowhere, decided instead to ask in a voice that he hoped resembled brightness, "Do you like gelato, Miss Davenport?"

…………….

**Hopefully I can update more over the weekend. Thanks for reading.**


	8. Mind Games and Feeding Frenzies

**Disclaimer: The only things I own are Claire and Anthony.**

……………

After a few halls, I'd decided not to cooperate. A scrawny French princess? Psh. I could take her. Then she called in Butler, who would prove to be slightly more difficult to handle.

So, I was led to a scary-looking room on the ground floor, in which there was a concrete floor and single chair.

Butler tied me to the chair and exited the room. I glanced over at what I guessed was a one-way mirror. What kind of psycho had an interrogation room in his basement?  
The snap of a belt caused me to return my attention to Minerva.

"_Bonjour,_ my pale friend."

"Hey, gorgeous," I said shamelessly, giving her a scary grin. She was unfazed.

When my grin finally wore off, she said plainly, "I will make this very simple for you: I ask questions, and you answer them. Agreed?"

"You have some cool hair there, Minnie. It's all big and curly. You don't mind if I call you Minnie, right?"

Her eyes narrowed. "With every fiber in my being."

"Coolness," I said brightly. This was going to be too easy. "So you're like, what, his girlfriend?"

"No."

"Sister?"

"No."

"Mom?"

"_No_." She rubbed her temples. "Who are you?"

"That's not that important, is it? All you need to know is that I'm beautiful and single, goldilocks." I winked with a devilish smirk. She wordlessly snapped the belt again and whacked me across the face with it. The red welt was gone in seconds, causing her to cock an eyebrow.

"You know, what in the heck were those crazy French thinking when they invented their language? It's so annoying, what with all those silent es's and eax's and eau's… I mean, if I were to write out… _comment pouvez vous voir dans mes yeux comme les portes ouvertes, vous menant vers le bas dans mon noyau où je suis devenu si engourdi, sans âme mon esprit dormant quelque part froid, jusqu'à ce que vous le trouviez là et le meniez en arrière à la maison_, it would look really weird, you know?" She stared at me as the flawless French rolled off my tongue.

"How can you see into my eyes like open doors, leading you down into my core… Those are Evanescence lyrics!"

"Good song," I commented nonchalantly.

She whacked me again. That was gonna get old really fast.

"Your name! Now!"

"Fine. I don't suppose you'd wanna go out with a dude when you don't know their name, huh?"

"Whatever," she growled.

"I dunno... Mom always told me not to talk to cute French girls with anger issues"

She whacked me. I shot her an angry sideways leer, a look I saved only for desperate times. She took a step back upon looking into my black eyes.

Minerva calmed down then, quickly deciding to change her tactics like a good girl. "Please. It would be much easier to address you if I knew your name."

I shrugged. She wouldn't be able to find anything on me anyway. "Anthony. Anthony Rose."

She pounced on a clipboard and scribbled something on it. Her gaze flickered to the mirror, then back to me. "And what are you doing here in Fowl Manor?"

I shrugged again and evaded the question by asking, "You know, you look like you could model. Do you model?"

"_No_," she said through clenched teeth, "I do not model. Now will you kindly answer the question."

Note how she wasn't asking.

"I dunno, maybe if you asked nicely I'd tell."

"_Please._"

"Eh… maybe a foot massage too."

Minerva dropped her head in her hands. This was going to be very tedious.

oOo

Flowers, biscuits, appetizers, and all sorts of other things adorned the table on the balcony. Artemis watched me wordlessly from across the circular table as he sipped a cup of tea. I nervously nibbled my chocolate gelato, averting my gaze. The Irish genius had confiscated my copy of the 'Book'.

"Do you like your gelato, Miss Davenport?" he asked to break the silence.

"It's… good…" I answered slowly.

More silence.

"You're quite a nervous person."

"Am I?"

"You look around when you eat, and you won't make eye contact. You're also keeping yourself hunched over the table—," I straightened myself and met his gaze with my own, "—Suggesting a lack of confidence."

I narrowed my eyes. "Notice anything else, Mr. Holmes?"

He gave me a sly little smirk. "You're wearing a men's shirt. Your boyfriend's?"

"My late brother's," I answered bluntly.

The smugness disappeared as he remembered his manners. "I'm sorry to hear that. May I ask when he died?"

"A few years ago. I was fourteen."

He paused. "You were close."

"Yes."

More silence. I wondered briefly what he was doing, what was going on in his large Irish brain.

"I saw you on a news site. Your graduation exit is famous. Or rather, infamous."

I smiled to myself. "I'm pleased to hear that."

"There was an interview with your brother. Apparently he's very worried."

I stiffened, gripping the armrests of my chair with white knuckles. "He's lying," I said a little too quickly.

"Myles, is it?" he pressed, taking note of my reaction. I forced myself to calm down. The quick and slightly violent reaction at the sound of his name had startled us both, though Artemis showed it much less than I.

"So who's Holly, anyway? Your girlfriend?" I evaded his question easily. He merely put on his condescending little smirk.

"I told you, she's a character in a children's novel I'm writing."

I gazed at him skeptically. He was lying through his teeth, Anthony said so. It had to be true. "You had quite a collection of files on 'The People'."

He shrugged slightly, never taking his eyes off of me. "Research. I like to sort out all the details first."

"Mm-hm." I watched him, looking for a pattern in his body language. We were both feeling each other out by this point, each of us memorizing the other's body language and voice pitching. He was quite a bit smarter than I'd first anticipated. I said in a low voice, "You seem rather absorbed in your book. So much so that you had the digits of your security password spell 'Holly'?"

At last his polite façade began to falter. "And how would you know anything about my security codes?"

"A lavender sticky note at the bottom of a drawer?" I chuckled. "Is that how one of the smartest teens in the world remembers his passwords?" Artemis pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered something along the lines of, _'…going to have a word with Mother…'_ "What're your brothers' names? Who are Minerva and Beau? And who is Holly _really_?" An icy, triumphant smirk played at my lips.

"What do you have against your brother? He seemed civil, if not a little overdramatic."

I scoffed, "First of all, he's my stepbrother. Second of all, you know nothing about him, so I suggest you don't judge him before you meet him."

"One of my brothers' names is Myles, you know. He's rather intelligent for his age."

"Oh goody," I said darkly.

"He's going into acting, isn't he? Your brother I mean?"

I rolled my eyes. "He's awful at it."

"I know. You should have seen his interview."

I glanced over at him to ask if I could see it, but he was already handing me his cellular phone.

"_A sunny June morning in southern California brings graduation for Dirgefield Highschool for the Gifted and Artistic," _began a serious-looking reporter. _"However, that's not all it brings. Seventeen-year-old Claire Davenport, who graduated with honors on the same day, simultaneously set off over 20 different fireworks as she left the stage. She, along with her alleged boyfriend disappeared soon after. Her family has been extremely worried, as she has shown symptoms of mental instability before. Here's her brother now, Myles Davenport."_

Myles stared at the camera, portraying the image of an innocent young teen.

_"H-hello," _he said shakily._ "While my parents are busy with the search, I agreed to appear so that I could plead for your help. You see, Claire is sick. She… she never really got over her brother, and she…" _His eyes began to fill. "_I guess I just want to say that it's really important that we find her. She used to h-have these fits, where she'd throw stuff and hit things… She can be so violent, and I'd hate for the general populace to be put at risk because of her personal problems._"

The reporter looked at him sympathetically and rested a hand on his shoulder. She glanced back at the camera and said, "_Back to you, Daisy._"

I gripped the phone. That little rodent. That lying, manipulative, disgusting, conniving, awful little boy. "My problem is you, you creature," I hissed under my breath, finally losing control of my emotions.

_"You left me," my voice rasped again as it had at the cemetery. My body, instead of limp and inflexible, became tense and hard. My breath was ragged as I knelt on my hands and knees, gripping nothing in my stone-like fists. I dragged myself to my feet, unable to keep still. My hands made idle motions, and I paced. Without thinking, I grabbed the nearest object, his metal lamp, and hurled it across the room._

"Throw things and hit stuff, eh?"

_"You left me!" I shouted. My chest heaved with the weight of this impossibly vast emotion. I grabbed whatever my fists closed upon and threw the objects about. I screamed, throwing myself into the walls and furniture in a rabid frenzy. My arms were bruised, my legs scraped. The pain was a reprieve, the dull throb of a lump on my head a life preserver. I slammed my fist into a dresser, splitting my knuckles, but I couldn't bring myself to care._

"What I'd really like to do is throw and hit _you_." I trembled, shaking fiercely with every word. "I hope you die the slowest, most painful death that can possibly be dished out. I hope that the most important person in your life leaves you. I hope everyone that could possibly be of any comfort abandons you, _as they did me_…"

"My phone, Miss Davenport?" I reluctantly handed him the phone. "So you dislike your step brother? I think I can unde—,"  
I stood so sharply my chair flew back and shouted, "NO! You DON'T understand! No one can possibly understand what it's like to have to live with that little demon!! He's a liar and a manipulator and a control freak, and he HATES ME! At first I thought he simply wanted me to get out of the picture, to which I happily would have obliged, but no, he wants to keep me there so he can keep me miserable! It's not enough that Joseph died and he showed no remorse or condolence, but then he took everyone away from me! Whatever friends I had at school abandoned me for him! HIM! He turned my parents against me, my peers against me, EVERYONE AGAINST ME, but that's not enough! It's NEVER enough, because he's a pathetic, evil little child who is going to go through life getting whatever he wants even though he never has to sacrifice anything because he's MYLES, and MYLES gets every freaking little thing he wants!!"

Artemis sat as far back in his chair as possible, his eyes slightly wider than usual. He carefully opened his mouth to say something when a beep sounded. "Artemis?"

The Irish teen picked up his walkie, never taking his eyes off of me. I righted my chair and sat back in it, unable to look at him. I drank some ice water to calm myself down. I had taken the bait, had fallen for his trick. I'd only felt this stupid when Myles and his friends would harass me at school.

"Yes, what is it Minerva?"

"The boy isn't saying _anything_. In fact he's near impossible."

"Hey, is Claire on the other line? Tell her I say hi, Minnie!" I heard Anthony call.

Minerva growled lividly, her French accent especially thick in her angry tone, "_Mon dieu_, shut up, you obnoxious boy! Eef you zay anozer word, I weel beat you zenseless, zen send Butler after you, zen toss your remains into a peet!"

"Hey Claire, I think this chick is really into me." I shook my head, though inside I actually found his remarks rather amusing.

"GRAH! I told you Artemis, he's impossible. Do you think you could help me?"

"Alright, I—,"

"Ouch!"

"What?"  
"I just gave myself a paper cut with this clipboard."

I froze.

"Is she bleeding?" I asked.

Artemis ignored me. "Oh, get over it. Miss Davenport here has been very informative—,"

"Is she bleeding?!" I asked with more volume.

Artemis stared at me for a long moment. "Yes, only a little. Why?" Minerva answered.

"Get out of there!"

"It's only a minor cut, Claire, calm down," Artemis sighed. Without even considering the consequences, I rose, knocking my chair aside again, and sprinted into the house. I had never been very athletic, my shapeless physique proved it, but I had always been a fairly fast runner. Artemis followed close behind, calling after me.

It was amazing I found the room. Anthony was backing Minerva into a corner, a bloodthirsty look in his eyes.

"Anthony!" I screamed. He lunged and grabbed the slight girl, causing her to shriek in terror. He swiped his tongue over his teeth, slowly leaning in for the kill. I ran full speed and rammed into his shoulder sideways. He released her, instead focusing his attention on me.

"A-Anthony…" I said again. I stared at his frightening appearance with wide eyes. His hunter's crouch, his dilated black eyes, his bared fangs. I regulated my breathing, resting my hands on his shoulders. "Just c-calm down…"

He grabbed one of my arms with a menacing growl and tossed me over his shoulder into a wall. I heard a few things snap in my shoulder and arm.

I let out a cry of pain and fell to the ground. He began to come after me.

"SHOOT HIM!!" I screeched as I grasped my injured arm, back peddling into the wall. "DON'T JUST STAND THERE, BLAST HIM TO KINGDOM COME!!"

Then, _BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!!_

Butler crashed through the door and started blasting away with his Sig Sauer. Artemis drew his pistol, and the girl I guessed was Holly appeared out of nowhere and took a few shots as well. Anthony fell and lay in a crumpled heap. I staggered from the room as quickly as I could.

I collapsed on my knees outside the door, which slid shut behind me. My eyes were huge as I panted for breath. _Anthony… you attacked me…_

_Claire? _He thought weakly.

_How could you?_

_I'm…sorry…_

"Oh gods… I can't believe we shot him…" said Holly quietly. I peered at her sideways. She was approximately three feet tall, with cropped auburn hair and olive skin. She, like Artemis, had mismatched eyes; one was coffee brown and one was sapphire blue.

The room was getting hot. Everyone was staring at me, waiting for an explanation. I was still shaking from the fact that Anthony had _attacked _me. _Me_. He'd sworn he'd never hurt me. He'd told me he'd gone vegetarian.

"What. Was. That?" hissed Minerva. I glanced up at her absently.

"I don't know," I lied quietly. I wasn't sure I even convinced myself. I hugged myself and folded halfway so that my forehead pressed against the cool tile of the floor. Darkness consumed me.

…………..

**I'm going to wait for… 5 reviews, before the next chapter. That's not too much to ask, right? Hopefully I'll be able to get another chapter in by Monday.**


	9. The Point at Which Things Go Screwy 1

**As promised, here's the next chapter. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed and subscribed, I'm tickled. . I won't ask for so many reviews this time, I promise.**

**Disclaimer: Nope, sorry, I'm am neither Eoin Colfer nor Stephanie Meyers.**

**Enjoy, folks.**

………………………

"_I, Joseph Phillip-Christian Davenport, a man of sound state of mind, declare my last will and testament…"_

_I wasn't listening, instead sitting on the windowsill of Mr. Burkeman's office. Father was quiet and still as a stone. Georgiana dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief, sniveling and trying to hold back her miserable cries. She had always like Myles best, of course, but Joseph was right there with him, in her book. I was most likely a few pages down, by her ex-husband, perhaps. Myles sat with his arms folded, unable to contain his impatience._

_"My Father, Christopher James Davenport, should he outlive me, shall receive 10 percent of my possessions and assets. My stepmother Georgiana Lucinda Davenport…"_

_He was glaring at me, as though he were already angry and indignant about what I was to receive. I didn't care. It didn't matter what he gave me, he would still be gone. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. There was nothing at all… My mind began to spiral downward. I stroked Jessie, whom I hadn't let out of my sight since he'd died, and rubbed my eyes. I hadn't slept well._

_"…20 percent of my assets shall be distributed amongst my closest friends and colleagues, whom I shall list…"_

_Why did Father insist on having an enormous formal reading? We could have saved Mr. Burkeman by having him just send us the will. Of course, Father had to be the theatric one and hold a big reading, like in the movies. It was all trash, fiction, Hollywood material._

_"… my half-brother, the son of my father and his second wife, Myles Roy Davenport, shall receive 5 percent of my assets, on the condition that he performs 20 hours of service to the community of Los Angeles, California…" Myles' jaw dropped._

_I barely smiled at my brother's last joke, his last little teasing of Myles. I could see that my stepbrother was ready to jump up and start shouting in outrage, however he wisely decided that staying still and quiet until the end would be the best course of action._

"…_And finally, my dearest sister, Claire Amelia-Elisabeth Davenport, shall receive the remains of my assets, which in all should amount to 60 percent, including the entire contents of my bedroom and the den adjacent to it, to do with as she wishes…"_

_Oh look, there just went my name. 60 percent? That was generous of him, to leave me so much. He must have liked me. He must have liked me a lot._

oOo

All I felt was warmth. The feeling of the soft bed, combined with the heat from being in direct sunlight was extremely toasty.

I loathed it.

I blearily opened my eyes to see Artemis setting a cup of tea on the nearby nightstand.

"How long was I out?" I asked blearily.

"Several hours," came his stiff reply.

"Where's Anthony?"

"Where we left him." He was cold, tense. I knew immediately he must have guessed what Anthony was. After that display, even a moron could figure it out. He paused before saying casually, "I took the liberty of calling your brother. He sounded genuinely worried, you know, and—,"

I sat up and screeched, "YOU DID WHAT?!  
Artemis gave me a hard stare. "You're lucky I'm not handing you over to the authorities for breaking into my house and nearly killing one of my best friends. Or worse, I could deal with you myself. I have some powerful lawyers on my side who would run to my defense in an instant were I to punish you myself."

"You don't understand… I'd rather sit around in a prison for the rest of my life than go back to Myles!"

"Claire, I'm afraid it is _you_ who doesn't understand. I've done some research on you."

"_Oh really_?" I snarled.

"Yes. I have. Your mother was a renowned psychologist, your father was a successful businessman, and you had a popular brother. Your perfect world came crumbling down when Dr. Bailey Davenport died in a horrific car accident, and was replaced within a year by Georgiana Decker. After Myles came around, I'm sure it feltlike he was taking over the household, and your brother's long and painful death didn't help. I believe it was your own seclusion that caused your family and peers to withdraw from you, more than anything else."

I stared at him incredulously. "Are... are you saying that everything, my evil stepbrother, my oblivious parents, my uncaring peers… it's _all in my head??_"

"Well… no…" His demeanor claimed otherwise. I leaped up and hit him with a left hook that would have made my brother proud. A violet bruise began to form on his pale cheek.

"You're just like him! You think you're better than I am! You think you're so clever, and that I'm just the stupid crazy ranting…" I swore. Multiple times. I slipped my ankle behind his and pushed him to the floor, a technique Joseph had shown me so I could deal with bullies. I hovered over him menacingly. "I know your type. You're on the high horse, looking down on e_veryone_, especially kooky know-nothings like me. To you I'm the loony girl who thinks everyone is against her. You must feel so _vindicated_, so _saintly_ by 'helping' me!"

Artemis slowly inched backwards, composed for the most part, but also uneasy. "Now Claire, if you'll take a minute to calm down…"

I stopped. This was exactly why people thought I was insane. I reached down and extended a hand to help him up. He eyed it with a disgusted expression, deciding instead to stand on his own. I began to pace, holding a hand to my forehead.

"When did you call him?"

"As soon as we got you in bed, so about ten minutes after you passed out."

"And exactly how long was I unconscious?"

"About four and a half hours."

"So it takes about ten hours to get here, and he probably left around…" I thought a moment and did the math. "We have six hours to escape." I inhaled deeply. We still had time. If only I could find Anthony...

"Claire…" Artemis said carefully. He did not want to get hit again. I buried my face in my hands and let out a low, guttural moan.

"You don't understand," I said again. "And now Myles is on his way here…"

A beep sounded. "Artemis?"

The Irish teen eyed me warily and sighed, then answered, "Yes, Minerva?"

"Anthony has… escaped,"

"Hm," was Artemis' reply.

"I hope he remembers to feeds Jessie," I muttered.

"Claire is awake? Tell her I'm going to kill her!"

"Oh, won't you _shut up_ you little blonde princess!"

"Your _boyfriend _assaults me, and you tell me to shut up?!"

"You have no idea what's going on, any of you, so just leave us alone and we'll be on our way!"

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that," Artemis said quietly. I glanced over at him, a fatal mistake; I could not avert my gaze.

"_Why don't you lie down for a few hours, Claire? Your brother will be here soon to pick you up, and we wouldn't want you to be overexcited, now would we?"_

I stared into his hypnotic eyes, put under the spell of his sinfully dazzling voice. My eyes grew heavy, my knees weak.

"I…" I whispered uncertainly. There was no reason to stay, despite how very pretty Artemis' voice was at the moment. Myles' coming meant I had to run, not stay. "…no…"

"_Really,_" he said, more firmly his time. "_I insist that you rest._"

His gaze was cruel but wonderful, his words horrid but exquisite. I gave him a last pained look, as though I were doing something wrong, then felt my body become light and numb. I took an almost reluctant step backwards and fell back onto the bed.

oOo

"…I had to drug her to calm her down. It was terrible."

"I can imagine." I felt sick as I instantly recognized the voice. Artemis had stolen my only chance to escape. Now he was here, the individual I hated more than any other.

My stepbrother.

My kin.

Myles.

"Please no…" I quietly moaned. They both heard me and approached the bedside.

"Hey, Claire," Myles greeted with what he must have hoped was warmth. He stroked my arm. I recoiled as I sat up, staring at the two helplessly. My stepbrother took a step away and said to Artemis, "So you're saying she _broke_ into your house and stole a book?"

"She and her accomplice, yes. And it was a manuscript, not a book"

"Accomplice…Oh, the pale guy. Yeah. He comes around sometimes." He shook his head. "I think he's part of the cause of her violence. He's always playing his war games and listening to that crazy music…" He glanced purposely at me and said in a condescending voice, "He's a bad influence."

I was frozen. It was like I was trapped a nightmare; Myles was plotting my demise, Artemis was clueless, Anthony was gone…

I was completely alone with someone who wanted to destroy me, and someone who could possibly help me but had no idea anything was wrong.

The room started getting warm as I began to panic. I looked around frantically while they talked. There were no windows. Two doors, one of which I guessed led to a bathroom, the other must be the way out. The boys were chatting quietly regarding my mental stability and all that. 

The door was shut, but I was closer to it than they were. When I was certain that they wouldn't be able to stop me, I made a run for it.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion as I lunged from the foot of the bed, crashed to the floor, leaped to my feet, and seized the doorknob.

My stomach turned to ice as I realized it was locked. I slowly turned my head to see the pair staring at me like I was crazy.

Artemis was the first to compose himself. "I anticipated that you would try to make a break for it, so I took the liberty of locking the door behind us." I noticed that he was fiddling with a small silver key.

"Wow," was all Myles could say. "You're smart."

Artemis smirked knowingly. "You have no idea, Master Davenport. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll allow you two to catch up before Butler escorts you from the premises."

He made his way to the door, gently moving me aside. I stared at him, and he briefly glanced at me.

"Please don't leave me with him," I whispered so only he could hear.

"You'll be fine," he reassured. He even gave me a fake smile, though it came off as more of an irritated grimace. It was then that I realized that I was lucky; he was allowing me some leeway because he thought I was crazy. Insanity had its advantages, I supposed. "Try talking to him, and perhaps you two will see eye to eye… You can't expect to keep running from him your whole life."

My expression hardened. For a genius, he certainly was stupid. "I did some research on you too, Master Fowl."

"Oh?"

"Yes," I said coldly. "The name Fowl has been associated with numerous crimes, though nothing has been proven."

"And?" he chuckled.

"I find it hard to believe that you wouldn't want to follow in your ancestors' footsteps. You haven't exactly been a saint your whole life."

Artemis directed a glare at me, but I held my ground. Without looking away he said partially to himself, and partially to Myles, "You know, Claire here is rather smart, too."

As he opened the door, I hissed, "No matter how legal your family's business is now, no matter how much you've tried to cover up past sins, you can't change the fact that _you screwed up_. You are the bad guy here, Artemis. Not me."

He gave me a last irate look before exiting. I shivered. I was completely alone now.

No Anthony. No Artemis. Just me and Myles.

Me and Myles. Trembling, I slowly looked over my shoulder to see the fifteen-year-old leaning against a bedpost, his arms folded and his expression cruel.

"So you thought you could get away, huh?"

"Please, Myles…" I said quietly. He began to stride at a tortuously slow pace towards me. I shivered again.

"Don't 'please, Myles' me. You thought you could just run away, jack my jet, and get away with it?"

"I've graduated high school and have more than enough money to get through college. I don't need you all anymore."

"That means nothing. It's not the fact that you ran away from home." He leaned in and hissed, "It's the fact that you ran away from _me_."

"What more do you want?? You took my friends, you took my parents, and you weren't even remotely sorry when Joseph died! You have everything and more, but that's not good enough!"

"It's not about having enough, it's about keeping you in your place!" He backhanded me. "You thought you could just go out with a bang, run off, and never come back! Well I've got news for you, _Starlet_: you can't run, you can't hide, you can't do anything unless I say so, because I. Own. You."

I will say now that in the presence of my stepbrother at that moment, I felt more unbridled fear than I have ever felt. He had an air about him, a certain authoritative demeanor that could silence me in a heartbeat. There was something about him in this moment, however, that gripped my stomach, crushed my windpipe, stopped my heart. I broke into a light sweat."Why do you hate me so much?" I asked pathetically as he cornered me. I braced myself for more pain.

"It doesn't matter _why_ I hate you, though I'll tell you anyway: You're obsolete. You oughta know what that means, right? You don't belong in _my _family. Your mom's dead, your brother's dead, there's _nothing _left of your old family! You have no place among us."

"Then why don't you let me leave?"

Myles chuckled. "Well, at first I thought about it, but it's just _so_ fun to mess with you." He grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and shoved me hard into the wall. With my shirt still in his grasp, he swept me to the side, onto the floor. I crawled and bounded away, then frantically passed my hands over the guest room vanity. A fountain pen found its way into my grasp. Myles made a grab for my wrist, but I shot a stream of ink into his face.

Out of instinct he used his tan leather jacket to rub the ink out of his eyes. He flushed with fury as he looked down at his ruined sleeves. He pounced on me, pinning me to the ground with his thighs.

"You tramp!! Do you realize how much this Nubuck jacket cost!?"

My arms were pinned. I wriggled beneath him, struggling to break free. It was no use; he was much heavier than I was.

I slipped one hand to his leg and dug my fingernails into his ankle, just around the Achilles tendon. His shout and shift in weight was enough for me to slip my arm from beneath him and make a blind strike. A tiny scratch was visible along his cheek. He fell back, touching his face in disbelief as the blood began to ooze around his fingers. I crawled backwards a few paces then jumped to my feet and made for the door.

As my hands closed around the sliver doorknob, Myles got a hold of my ankle and pulled me hard to the floor. Before I could react he had my throat in his grip and was using his superior strength to ram my face into a bedpost. I could feel my nose begin to fill with blood, and even worse, I lost my pen.

Dizzy, I began to stagger away, but he interlaced his fingers in my hair and jostled me to the ground.

…………………………**.**

**Okay, so just three reviews this time. Once again, thanks for reading. I'll update when I can.**


	10. The Point at Which Things Go Screwy 2

**Wow, that was fast. Okay people, here's chapter… 9, I think? Or is it ten? Can't remember…**

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned Artemis Fowl and Twilight, however, I do not.**

**Anyway, here it is.**

…………………**.**

"Artemis, we need to go in there," Holly whispered as they both stared at the screen in the security room.

Artemis had strategically placed Claire in a room that was close to his security room, for he had wanted to see just how the two acted alone. He felt, for the first time in his life, rather foolish. He had expected shouting match, of course; She didn't seem like the cooperative type. However, an unprovoked physical fight was what had broken out, and Artemis felt responsible.

There he was, thinking that she was a very good, but very instable liar. A brother who got everything he wanted without question, tormented her without consequence, and was an imbecile to top it off? It was so absurd that she had to be making it up… or be more than slightly crazy.

He wondered if perhaps in the two years that had passed since they had caught Opal Koboi for the last time, he had gone through a state of regression. With no schemes to hatch, no villains to outsmart, his genius just wasn't needed anymore. His gaze softened into an almost distraught expression as he realized that he had lost his touch. After all, he should have been able to foresee this, shouldn't he? Movement in another panel caught his eye, distracting him from his woes.

"_Artemis_," Holly repeated. "That girl is getting _hurt_, we have to do something."

"No we don't."

"What are you talking about?" Holly was shocked at how uncaring her friend was being.

Artemis was not focused on the same screen as Holly, however.

oOo

I was shaking. How pathetic was I to be beaten by my fifteen-year-old moron brother? I was two years his senior, yet here I was on the floor.

He smashed my face into the carpet, holding my head down with one palm. "You. Are. Pathetic," he snarled maliciously in my ear. "You are gonna come home, tell mom and dad to put you on meds, and never, _ever_ leave my house agai—,"

Myles was interrupted by the very scary, very livid vampire that had taken hold of his throat.

"Hey, Myles," my fanged friend said, his voice pleased and vicious at the same time. "Remember me?"

Myles went as pale as Anthony.

"Oh, so you do. That's _great_." The vampire proceeded to hoist him into the air by his throat, his amber eyes boring holes into Myles' hazel.

"Y-you're the f-freak that…"

"See, that's where you're mistaken. I'm worse than a freak. About ten times, no, a _million _times worse than a freak. Freaks take one look at me, then go running home with wet pants squealing to their mommies." He laughed mockingly. "_I _am what they call in my home town a 'nightmare from hell'."

Anthony effortlessly flung my stepbrother across the room, behind the bed. I guessed that Myles would stay and cower there, obviously remembering the last beating he'd been given by my fanged friend. Now I'm not one for casual language, but having a vampire for a friend was _awesome_.

I slowly got to my knees, shivering and gasping for breath. Anthony had collected me in his arms before I could blink.

"I thought you left me," I said quietly and emotionally. My eyes began well as I reached my arms around him. "I thought you wouldn't come back and I'd h-have to face My-Myles alone…"

"Hey, it's okay," he murmured. "You hurt bad?"

I sniffed, tasting blood in the back of my throat. I guessed it was only a minor nosebleed from the amount of blood I felt. "No."

"Claire." I stiffened. I hadn't even heard him enter.

"Y-yes?"

"I… eh… I owe you an—,"

"We're even," I assured. "I broke into your house, you underestimated my stepbrother." I wiped my nose on the sleeve of Joseph's light blue shirt, leaving a dark red trail. "We're even." I gave him the slightest of smiles.

Then I heard a noise that caused me to turn sharply. He had gotten to his feet, though he still gripped the bedpost for support.

"You though you could screw me over again?!" Myles screamed. He held up his cell phone. "I thought you'd bring him, so I decided to get some people to take him out once and for all!"

He very melodramatically pressed a button.

Within seconds, a dozen or so extremely muscular men had pounced into the room.

Anthony and I were gone long before then.

oOo

"Anthony, you have to go back!" Claire screamed as she clung to my neck. I halted suddenly, causing her to clasp me tighter.

"Are you crazy?! He hired guns!"

"It's my fault: I disabled his security alarms just after I got onto his computer! He must not have noticed!"

"So you mean they were just able to waltz onto the property? I'm sorry, but that's his problem, not ours."

"Please!" she begged. "I'm responsible if he hurts them! Anthony… _please…_"

I looked down at her, sighed, then set her down on a grassy hill. "Wait here."

oOo

"Where is she? I—" Minerva promptly shut her mouth as she saw the men all gathered around Artemis and Holly. Artemis was tense, Holly was tenser. The elf considered drawing her Neutrino, but that would give her away as a different, futuristic species. And then the fairies would be screwed.

So, all she could do was stand very still and hope they didn't notice her pointed ears, which were hidden somewhat by her hair.

Guns were aimed at them.

"Where. Did. They. GO?!" Myles screamed through clenched teeth.

"Master Davenport, please, let's calm down for a moment…"

The young American's gaze flickered to his men. The guns were cocked.

"You're in league with her, I know it! She somehow tricked you, or her crazy boyfriend did! Now tell me: _Where are they?!_"

"I honestly don't know," Artemis said in a low, cautious voice. He said with finesse, "Perhaps we might derive a solution if we work together, however, shooting me in my own home is not the way to go about things."

The cogs turned in Myles' head. "Stand down," he muttered. To Artemis he said, "Okay, Smart Guy, you're going help me find my nut-job stepsister and her buddy, we clear?"

Artemis was about to reply when a loud _smack_ was heard. No. Not the smack of one being smacked upside the head, but the characteristic smack of lip-sucking. The inhabitants of the room all turned their attention to the doorway, where Minerva stood staring up at me with huge, shocked eyes. I licked my lips.

"Tasty," I cackled somewhat perversely. Myles and his men looked confused, Artemis looked irritated, and Holly looked somewhat disturbed. Minerva couldn't stop staring, completely astonished that I had actually been so brash as to _kiss_ her, and without her permission no less!

"There he is! Shoo—!"

"Hey now! Don't I at least get a few last words?" Myles glared at me.

"Why should I let you?"

"Because all good villains let the dashing heroes have a few last words, _duh_. Oh, and does your phone have a camera on it?"

"Uh… yeah, why?"

"Because," I said as I smoothly guided Minerva to Artemis and Holly. "I want to have a last photo with our good old pals here, to remember all the good times we've shared. That time we broke into Artemis' house, the time he held us against our will, the time I kissed Minnie here…" I grinned. "Please, Myles?"

Myles looked about ready to shoot us all.

"He has a point," Artemis pointed out. "You do owe him a last wish, at the very least." He was catching on to my plan. He really was smart.

"Let's see…" I said. "We'll have Artemis on my right, Minnie on my left, and Holly will be on my shoulders 'cause she's so darn cute."

"There's no way—,"

"Holly, Artemis said sharply. "Do it."

Dude and elf looked each other in the eyes, and mutual understanding was attained.

She reluctantly climbed on my back, while I slipped my arms around the humans' midsections. _Hold on to your valuables,_ I said telepathically.

"Smile!" I said aloud with a grin. Myles, rolling his eyes, pressed the 'take picture' button.

I plunged from the room at vampire speed. _Wow, he really is dumb_, I cackled to the others telepathically. Artemis silently gripped my shirt with white-knuckled hands, Holly nearly choked me she was hanging on so tight, and Minerva was screaming like a banshee, or whatever.

I set them down by where Claire was and yawned. "Need any other favors, Claire?"

Artemis and Holly composed themselves as much as possible, though both were really pale. Minerva sat wide-eyed on the grass, staring at me.

"_Mon dieu_…" she whispered. Her blue eyes grew huge, the comprehension showing in her face. "It's so obvious…"

I snickered as I poked her forehead. "Just what have you been smoking, little missy?"

She slapped my hand away and stood before her head had completely cleared. Her knees wobbled a little and… well I just could help myself. I moved in and caught her in my arms before she fell over, holding her to my broad chest. She gaped at me briefly, taking in my very vampire-esque beauty. Oh yeah, I was gorgeous.

Outraged, she shoved me away, jabbing a slender finger in my chest. "You can play stupid, but I know what you are! It was so obvious, especially when you _attacked _me!"

I leaned in, my eyes narrowed and a devious little smile on my lips. The smell of my breath was no doubt making her dizzy. "I don't think you know what you're talking about, Minnie. Why don't you have a seat?" I effortlessly scooped her slight frame into my arms, grinning.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Holly muttered.

Claire had been watching her the whole time, thoughtful and quiet. "So you're the supposed book character, eh?"

The red-haired midget glanced at Artemis, then her. "Yeah. The name's Holly. Captain Holly Short."

"You're a fairy, aren't you?"

"…yes…"

Claire gave a weak smile. "So I'm not insane." She extended a hand. "Claire Davenport. I have to say… it's an honor to meet you. I've… I've never met another sentient species before. Well a—," she stopped and caught herself. I didn't really see the point. Artemis had figured it out. Minerva was about 90 percent sure, though she was still a little skeptical. Maybe an experiment, or another type of fairy, but an actual vampire… "I have so many questions to ask you…"

"I believe it would be best if you kept your questions to yourself, Miss Davenport," Artemis said coldly, causing her to wince ever-so-slightly. He sat cross-legged on the grass in a meditative position. "Holly, you left your helmet, didn't you?"

Holly's eyes widened as she realized her mistake.

"Myles doesn't care about valuables," Claire assured quickly. "He only wants us. I wouldn't be surprised if he sent helicopters or land rovers and whatnot after us now…" The _chuk_ _chuk chuk _of chopper propellers sounded in the distance. Artemis, Holly, and Claire stood up, while I let Minerva down.

"Speak of the devil," I muttered, scanning the area for a safe place.

There was nothing. We were in the middle of a stupid field in the middle of stupid Ireland. I could have smacked myself for not thinking ahead.

Thoughts began racing in my head. I could possibly get them to safety if I moved them one by one… but that would take forever. I needed a quick escape. Now.

Just then, a massive green Hummer revved onto the scene.

"Get in!" shouted Butler above the din.

That guy was my new best friend.

Well, at least right up there with Claire and the Cullens.

I unceremoniously tossed Claire into the vehicle, while Artemis, Minerva, and Holly clambered in after.

"Claire!" I called from the outside over noise of the choppers and the roar of the engine. "Get our stuff, get Jessie, and go to London! I need to cover our tracks!"

"Wait, why London? And where do you think you're going?!" She and I both knew that she knew the answer. Without a word, I glanced at Butler, who instantly understood, and roared away. It took the other three passengers to hold Claire down as she climbed to the back of the vehicle, screaming to me, and pressed her hands against the window. I watched them guiltily for a moment, but knew that she'd be safer if I stayed behind. I slowly turned to face the choppers and waved.

I cupped my hands around my mouth and taunted, "Yeah, come and get me, Myles!!" Using my superior vision, I was able to pick out which one was him. He glowered down at me and shouted something to the pilot, who shook his head and said something back.

_…Shoot him? That's… what's he… thinking?... how does he… dangerous ground here…_

_… I swear… have to… him away… then Starlet…_

_…we're taking orders... from a kid…?_

_…unbelievable…_

_…is he… magician?..._

_…how long…_

_…are we gonna…_

_…chase this guy…_

I listened to the crew's thoughts for a few moments, then ran at human speed into the cover of some nearby hedges.

I mentally reached out and looked for someone who might help me out… Myles' crew was obviously out, and so were the nearby native Dubliners… There was one voice that seemed almost friendly though. I listened and heard the names Holly Short and Artemis Fowl. Bingo.

_Hey you._

_…did I finally go insane?_

_Yeah, whatever. Listen, you know Artemis and Holly and them, right?_

_I might. I'm a little confused here, are you some sort of second personality, or just a figment of my imagination?_

_…Can I just ask you something?_

_I asked you first._

I rolled my eyes. This guy was almost as annoying as I was.

_No, I'm just a guy who can read minds and…stuff. _I decided I wouldn't go into detail on my other talents._ I need you to help me._

_And why would I do that?_

_Because if you don't Holly, Artemis, and Minerva are gonna be caught by my friend's psychotic stepbrother._

_Hm. That's a good incentive. Alright, where are you?_

_ I'm right under the choppers._

_Gee, that's helpful, _he thought sarcastically.There were a few other people nearby, also under the choppers._ What do you look like?_

_I'm the tall pale guy._

_Any other distinctive features?_

_You can't miss me. I'm just glad it's getting dark, otherwise I'd be blinding people._

_Ah. I see you. You know, this whole psychic trick you can do is most helpful._

_Yeah, whatever._

I turned around abruptly as I smelled quite possibly the most horrid thing I'd ever smelled. Think… garbage, combined with loads of dirt, sweaty socks, and week-old greasy fast food. I had to stop breathing so that the stench wouldn't give me brain damage or something.

"You wouldn't happen to be the psychic pale kid, would you?" asked the three-foot tall, skuzzy, hairy little dude.

"Jeez, I'm not psychic. I just open channels between minds."

The midget widened his eyes and put his hands up in mock apology. "Pardon me, Mr. Technical."

I opened my mouth to shoot a retort regarding his smell when I noticed the choppers were beginning to land. "Ah crap," I muttered instead. I glanced at my hairy new ally. "Can you help me lead these guys away and make me disappear?"

He chortled. "Yes, I can make you disappear, my pale friend."

There was something about his creepy knowing grin that scared me a lot.

………………………..

**Oh boy, this is getting good.**

**I love your reviews, people!**


	11. The Chase

**Sorry it's been taking me so long to update. But you know, school and everything makes it hard to get a chance to write. I promise I'll update again before the weekend is over.**

**Alright, so I wasn't too sure about this chapter, since I thought her reaction was a little extreme, but I thought Artemis should have a chance to see how she acts under stress (she completely crumples, losing hold of thought and logic) So yeah, I wasn't overly pleased with this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: As sad as it is, I own neither Artemis Fowl nor Twilight.**

**Enjoy.**

……………………

Artemis, Minerva, and Holly all tried to talk amongst themselves and ignore my ashen face. I sat limply with my arms in my lap, staring blankly ahead.

"Where is your hotel, Claire?" asked Butler. I barely heard him. My lack of response caused him to ask again. "Claire, I need to know where I'm driving. Where is your hotel?"

I couldn't answer. At that moment only one thought dominated my existence: Myles has truly taken everything now, including the one person who could possibly save me from insanity.

"She most likely chose the Dublin Hotel because it is the most popular, and she didn't want to sort through hotel websites all day," answered Artemis for me.

We took fifteen whole minutes to get there. If Anthony had been driving it would have taken less than five.

I scraped together my belongings with agonizing sloppiness and sluggishness. The sound of Minerva's startled yelp did not surprise me, as she must have stumbled upon Jessie.

"She's a hairless cat, Miss Paradizo," I said blandly without looking in her direction. Normally I had so much fun introducing Jessie to people. Not now though.

"_Oh my God, what is that?"_

"_You're changing the subject, Master Rose…"_

"_Now we're on last name basis? Ouch."_

_He would not stop staring at the cat, which caused me to openly roll my eyes and say, "That is a hairless cat, commonly known as the Sphynx cat, the full taxonomy of which is the Animalia _ _Chordata__ Mammalia _ _Carnivora _ _Felidae__ Felis__ Catus…"_

"_Jeez, okay, shut up please." He glanced distastefully down at Jessie once more._

Anthony was gone.

My knees gave way, causing me to collapse onto my side. I couldn't see straight, the world began to swim…

"We'll never get out of here at this rate," sighed Artemis as he rubbed his temples. He knelt beside me and tentatively rested a hand on my shoulder. "Claire."

"They had guns, Artemis." I whispered dizzily.

"He's going to be _fine__**. **_He wouldn't have stayed if he knew he couldn't handle himself."

I felt like instead of drowning, someone had given me a scuba tank from which I could breathe.

"Claire, I know you're a smart girl," continued Artemis, "They won't see a smart-aleck teenager as much of a threat, so there's no logic they can use to justify shooting him. Now please, we have to move if we are to escape Myles."

Everything was still, though a fog seemed to still cloud my mind. I fought through it, desperate to escape its treacherous hold. Another startled squeak from Minerva sounded in the distance.

"Holy crap… Artemis, give her some air!"

That voice…

"I only wish to help!"

…so familiar…

"What did you _do_??"

…so comforting…

I heaved myself to my hands and knees and turned to see…

"Anthony!" I cried, leaping to my feet and running into him. He swayed ever-so-slightly with the force of my embrace.

I drew away, my mind completely cleared, and looked him over. "Anthony, you smell terrible. What is that?" I gestured to the muck he was covered in.

"I wish I could tell you that it's mud, but I'm honestly not sure…" I gingerly and distastefully began to brush myself off.

"As thoroughly touching as this is, we still have an escape to carry out," muttered Artemis from the other side of the room.

I nodded. "Of course," I agreed, quickly throwing together our belongings. My vampire friend picked up Jessie, stroking her skinny back, and stashed her in her carrier.

The six of us, Artemis, Minerva, Holly, the strange small hairy thing that had apparently aided my friend, Anthony, and I, retreated to Butler's Hummer. Once inside, Anthony said, "Hey Butler, buddy, do you mind if I drive?"

Butler looked genuinely confused, and glanced at us.

Artemis and I nodded in unison, causing him to shrug and relinquish the driver's seat.

"If you get one scratch on it…"

"Don't worry, dude," Anthony cackled, "I'm not one to mess up people's rides. Now where to, Arty?"

"Back to the manor. We're taking my jet."

"Gotcha. Oh, I suggest you buckle up, folks."

I gripped my armrests in anticipation as he started up the engine. Artemis and Minerva, seeing my behavior, hastily put on their own seatbelts and held on to their armrests.

Anthony drove from the hotel parking lot at an insane speed of about 105 miles per hour. I stared ahead, ignoring the frightened reactions of my fellow passengers. Several minutes later, we pulled into Fowl Manor, disheveled and with racing hearts, but we were safe. We marched to Artemis' hangar and quickly boarded his jet.

"I need you to remain here, dear friend," said Artemis solemnly to his former bodyguard.

Butler nodded in understanding, though he still looked slightly downtrodden. "Yes, Master Fowl." He paused and added, "I'll alert you if this Myles character shows up on the premises."

"Thank you. I will contact you soon so that you know I'm alright."

"Very well." With a last wave goodbye, Butler began to make his way back to the manor.

He stopped at the entrance of the hangar, staring out at the field beyond, then crept to a discreet-looking box and pulled out a very large gun.

"Uh-oh, looks like our pal needs some help," said Anthony as he began to climb from the jet. This time I kept silent.

He would be alright, I decided. I still trembled slightly as he left, however.

"I thought we lost those creeps," said the little hairy man confusedly.

I blinked and said with a hint of curiosity in my voice, "I'm sorry, but first meetings usually warrant introductions."

Holly gestured with her thumb towards him and replied, "This is Mulch Diggums. He's a dwarf."

My eyes brightened. "You mean… another fairy?"

"Yes, I am a fairy, now who might _you _be, little miss faint-at-heart?"

"Claire Davenport, and I believe you've already met my associate, Anthony Rose." I extended a hand, which he carefully shook.

"You do know that your friend gives me, and I'm assuming everyone else, the heebie-jeebies?"

I smirked. "Yes, he generally has that effect on people."

"Oh, as long as you're aware," he said, and sauntered to Artemis' mini-fridge.

We waited quietly for ten minutes before he stumbled in, his shirt and jeans dripping blood.

We collectively paled, though I most of all when I saw the ruby tint in his eyes.

"You didn't…" I whispered. Could he have possibly killed Myles?

"No, the little beast isn't dead yet," Anthony growled, reading my thoughts. He used his arm to wipe a crimson smear away from his mouth. "Where are my clothes?"

I wordlessly got out his bag and handed it to him. He snatched it up and stalked to the lavatory.

"Um…" I said, looking around at everyone's shocked expressions. "We're ready for takeoff now."

oOo

Artemis flew the jet, leaving the rest of us to our own devices. Holly and Minerva boredly attempted to make a house of cards, Mulch devoured most of the contents of the fridge, and Anthony and I sat silently away from the rest. We both noticed that Minerva kept glancing in Anthony's direction.

My friend rolled his eyes and picked up a book that read, _The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature_, and pretended to be completely and utterly engrossed in it.

"Master Rose," she said quietly. "Anthony. Will you answer me this?"

He looked over his book at her large blue eyes, then hid behind it again. "Yeah?"

"Did you kill anyone?"

"What do you think?"

Her eyes widened. "Don't you feel any… remorse? Any guilt?"

Anthony laid the book in his lap and leered at her. "Are you the dumbest genius _ever_? It's what I do, what my _kind _does…" He stopped himself, realizing he'd just confirmed her and everyone else's suspicions.

Everyone was quiet, save Mulch who was busily chomping down on a large BLT sub and had no real idea what Anthony was.

"So I… we," she gestured to Artemis up front, who no doubt was listening in, "Were right... It's true then? You're…"

"Yeah," he muttered to the startled girl, though he could not meet her gaze, "I'm a vampire."

Everyone was quiet again. You could have heard a pin drop, which was exactly the sort of noise that was heard when Mulch dropped his empty water bottle.

"Oh wow. Um, had I known I was helping out a vampire…" the hairy fairy trailed off.

Anthony, now thoroughly uncomfortable and annoyed, fished around in his backpack for his iPod. He turned his heavy metal music on extremely loud, tuning out any further questions.

This was going to be a long trip.

……………….

**So yeah, I know it was a little short, and probably not the best quality. It's going to get better, though; In the next few chapters we're going to see pieces of Anthony's past, which should be pretty cool. And also a little sad, but you'll see when we get there.**


	12. Taking a Breather

**Hey, I told you I'd update before the weekend was out, didn't I? I was hoping this would be a little longer, but I suppose it can't be helped.**

**Disclaimer: hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha….. me? Own Artemis Fowl and/or Twilight? Hahahahahahahaha……**

…………………

Because of the sheer quantity of the events that have come to pass within the last week, I suppose it would be wisest to recap.

My name is Claire Davenport, and my odd, frightful, and unique adventure began when I clicked a link to a cheesy 'fact-or-hoax' website and saw a mysterious figure depicted flying in one of the videos. Curious (and with little else to do), I investigated further. Much to my surprise, I calculated that the figure was only three feet tall.

I looked into subject of fairies, and a link to them: a boy my age by the name of Artemis Fowl. Inspired and motivated, I called up my vampiric friend, Anthony Rose, whom I had met the previous winter. Together, we plotted and carried out my insane graduation, and the breaking into the home of this Artemis Fowl character.

With the help of a device that I and my late brother had designed, I hacked into the Irish billionaire's computer and discovered a mysterious file named 'The People'. Before I could investigate further, however, my vampire friend and I were caught and held captive: I by Artemis Fowl himself, and Anthony by Minerva, an intelligent and quick-tempered French girl who was Artemis' dear friend.

Unfortunately, Anthony lost control of himself when Minerva accidentally gave herself a paper cut, nearly killing her and myself in the process. I blacked out, utterly shocked that he had attacked me.

Later, when I had awoken, Artemis told me that he had called up my loathsome stepbrother, Myles, who was currently on his way. Outraged, I attacked Artemis, causing him to use a form of hypnosis which has yet to be explained to me. This caused me to fall asleep until Myles arrived.

When Myles showed up, giving the illusion of a well-mannered, caring fifteen-year-old, I knew that my chance of proving to Artemis how evil my stepbrother truly was. As soon as the Irish teen left the room, Myles attacked me in a very vicious manner. I fended him off well, but in the end, it was my dear, dear friend Anthony who came to my rescue.

Much to everyone's surprise, though, Myles had hired a numerous amount of men to harm and/or capture us, but we escaped. I was then introduced to Artemis' elven friend, Holly, and reassured myself that I was not completely insane for endeavoring to prove the existence of fairies.

Furious by his defeat, Myles pursued us via helicopters. Anthony, along with a pungent little dwarf by the name of Mulch, led them away, while Artemis, Holly, and I fled back to my hotel. We then boarded Artemis' jet, where Anthony revealed that he was a vampire to our new companions.

Now, we have currently arrived in London, where we hope to sort out what we need to do to correct this problem with my very wicked stepbrother.

oOo

"So why did we come to London?" Holly asked as she adjusted the clothes and beret I'd allowed her to borrow so that she would blend with humans more easily.

"Because it's so close he won't think to look for us," Claire replied. "Now let's find a hotel to use as a base of operations."

"Of course," said Artemis as we exited the jet. We had landed in a hangar specifically for private vehicles.

We walked about a mile or so to the nearest hotel, a Hilton, and checked in.

Up in our room, we began to formulate our next plan of action. We settled in a little, then situated ourselves on couches and chairs around a coffee table.

"Alright, so Myles is after us, and knows that Artemis and Minerva are involved," began Claire.

"I can't go back to my home, and we cannot assume that Minerva is safe," Artemis agreed. "I'll call my family and ask them to remain in Paris."

Claire nodded "That will make things a little easier. Now what are we going to do about this?"

I yawned and said, "I say we just go in and kill the stupid kid."

"We can't kill him," Claire sighed, though I could tell she found the whole idea kind of tempting. "If we do, I'll be the prime suspect."

"We could mindwipe him," suggested Holly.

"What's that?" I asked as I stretched out my arms and rested my feet on the table.

"It's fairy technology that enables us to clear selected memories."

"That's perfect. All we need to do is get him."

"With all those choppers and hired men?" asked Mulch. "I don't think so."

"We've pulled through worse," Holly pointed out. "We faced the B'wa Kell, Koboi Laboratories, and Spiro Needle, to name a few."

"She's right, we have pulled through worse," Artemis agreed. "And we have several advantages on him already: We have three genii, an elf, a dwarf, and a vampire on our side, not to mention Section Eight and whatever allies Claire and Anthony can provide."

"I'm sure Ed'll help us out if we ask real nice," I mused.

Claire chimed, "He has certain powers of his own however. Though he isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, he's a master at persuasion and can tell people exactly what they want to hear. He also has many friends spread almost worldwide who have their own special talents: computer hacking, forgery, espionage, code-breaking, communications, etc. Not to mention his travels with Father have earned him some formidable allies who would happily help a generous boy like Myles bring home his loony stepsister and her deranged killer boyfriend."

"So what exactly is our plan?" asked Mulch.

"I have no problem running for the rest of my life," offered Claire bravely, "But I do not want anyone else to be involved."

"Unacceptable," Artemis interjected. "After seeing how that awful boy behaves, and knowing that he has gotten away with it all these years, I cannot possibly step back and allow you to be tormented." His eyes glittered, as though he was anticipating some sort of game or challenge. I was a little taken aback by his sheer resolve to help someone he'd met only hours earlier, someone who had broken into his house and stolen his property.

Minerva tiredly looked at a clock. "Look, can we do this tomorrow? It's after nine."

"Yeah, I could use a good night's sleep too," Holly said with a yawn.

I craned my neck to see that there were only two beds. "Have fun sharing, kids. I call the couch."

"I, Minerva, and Holly can take one. We're all small. Artemis and Mulch will take the other—,"

"Ohhh no, I'm not curling up next to Artemis! I'm taking the other couch."

"So wait, Artemis gets a bed all to himself??" Holly asked incredulously. I sensed an argument coming on.

"Hey, Minnie," I called across the room to her, then patted the area next to me. She narrowed her eyes briefly before collapsing into bed, her clothes still on and everything. I guessed that tomorrow would consist of a shopping trip.

"Good night, everybody," I said a little too loudly, showing that I was still wide awake. A chorus of muttered 'goodnight's was my reply.

_Oh dear,_ thought Claire, _However are you going to pass the evening?_

_I dunno. I guess I'll pretend to sleep… she's looking at me again, isn't she?_

_Yes._

_I swear, she's adorable but creepy. Doesn't she know that staring is rude?_

She mentally laughed softly. I guessed she was tired, and chose to leave her alone. Instead, I decided to watch Minnie.

Her slender frame and thick blonde hair reminded me of someone I knew, once upon a time when I was human. Her name was Lisa, I remember. She had been a hippie like me. You know, flower power, make love not war, that whole thing. I even introduced her to the world of drugs, which I would later regret.

Wow, what in the world… Was I… _sad?_ I never used to get sad because I believed nothing was ever my fault. That must have been one of the things Claire had rubbed off on me; I never took responsibility for anything before I met her, which was why Edward and the other Cullens had hated my guts for a while.

I thought back to the day I was bitten. It wasn't a memory I visited often, since it wasn't a very nice one, however, I had time tonight to have a little feeling-sorting session. Plus it wasn't like I had anything else to do.

_I drove up to her house in my yellow _**__****Studebaker Lark. The radio was blaring 'Do You Love Me' by the Dave Clarke 5 as I waited across the street. After a minute or so of waiting, I beeped the horn.**

**__****"Come on, Lis', I don't have all day!" I tossed my gorgeous blonde hair and squinted my dazzling green/blue eyes in the afternoon sunshine.**

**__****At last, after what seemed like forever, she emerged from her house. I let out an involuntary sigh at the sight of her.**

**__****Her wavy blonde hair tumbled to her waist, and around her head was a white and yellow headband. She wore a loose white blouse with colorful leaves and blooms embroidered on the neckline, a fake suede belt loosely tied around her trim waist, and flared jeans with flowers on the bottoms. Though she only wore a little, she had a few love bead bracelets on her wrists, and a large wooden peace sign pendant that a friend had made for her.**

**__****"Sorry," she apologized in her bell-like voice, "My parents aren't being very cool about me hanging out with you."**

**__****I laughed softly and kissed her forehead. "Baby, if I were your parents, I wouldn't be very cool about you hanging out with a guy like me either." With that statement, I pressed the **

**__****gas, causing the engine to roar like a beast. She laughed musically as we drove off to pick up our other friends.**

**__********Man, was I a loser. No really, I ****__****sucked******** back when I was human. In fact I still sucked until Claire found me. I was reckless, obnoxious, rude, and was convinced that somehow nothing was my fault and everyone else was a moron. She was easily stressed, always upset, felt that everything was somehow her fault… Only with her everyone else actually ****__****was******** a moron. No wonder we were perfect for each other.**

******I shifted uncomfortably under Minerva's gaze. She must've thought I was asleep by the way she just kept ****__****staring********. I wondered for a moment if I'd thought too loud, and if she had heard me. For half an hour, I cycled through curling up on my side, resting on my back, then turning onto my belly, before finally getting up, grabbing a coat, and leaving via the hotel door.**

******"Where is he going?" asked Artemis drowsily at the sound of the door shutting.**

******Claire admitted, still half-asleep herself, "Vampires don't sleep."**

******Minerva was silent as she realized that I had been aware of her scrutiny for the past hour.**

******oOo**

******I made my way down the street, hands in my pockets. Lights shone from everywhere, like a British New York. The light kind of hurt my eyes, though I didn't care.**

******My mind started to drift again…**

******__****We were recovering from some joke Adrian, one of the few black guys at our school, had made.**

**__****Roxanne, his girl, wiped a tear from her eye and let out another giggle. "So where're we going today?"**

**__****"I dunno," I said with a swish of my golden mane. "I was thinking Lucky's?"**

**__****Groans reverberated around me. **

**__****"Come on, Tony, you know better!" cried Kim in her Brooklyn accent. She was the go-go girl of the group. She adjusted her large-framed sunglasses for the umpteenth time and went on, "Lucky's is sooo for squares."Her boyfriend, Clint, wrapped one arm around her shoulder and stroked his beard with his other hand.**

**__****"We could go to the beach," suggested Roxanne.**

**__****"Girl," Adrian said, "No one wants to sit around on some dumb beach and get sand all over their butt."**

**__****"Let's go to the park." Lisa's breezy voice made her undeniable.**

**__****"The park it is!" I crowed as I shifted gears and sped up, only a few miles above the limit.******

……………..

**It's a little short, I'm sorry to say. I promise, though, the next one will be longer and a little more eventful. And laaaater there may even be some **

**ROMANCE!**

**You know what to do though, people. That's right, it's called 'review' . Hehe, seriously, I appreciate them.**


	13. The Starbucks Bag

**Sorry for the sudden, extreme lack of action lately. I'm having some form of writer's block I guess. I promise, it's gonna get better soon.**

**In the meantime, I guess you'll have to put up with this. XD**

**Disclaimer: Is this really necessary? I mean, what moron would write fanfiction about their own book? –second persona raises hand- O.o Okay then.**

**…………………**

******I woke up slowly the following morning. It took me a moment to remember the events of the previous day, how Myles had come with his henchmen, how we'd run from Fowl Manor, how we had escaped via Artemis' jet.**

******I suddenly wondered why he so willingly followed us and agreed to help. Come to think of it, Minerva had put up very little opposition to the idea of aiding me and Anthony too. Holly and Mulch both seemed like the types to help Artemis no matter what, but what were the Irish teen's motives? After all, Anthony and I had broken into his home, stolen his property, attacked his friend, and had dragged him into our personal problem with Myles.**

******I got up and yawned. The Irish genius was attempting to make some coffee, however, he could not seem to work the machine. I tiredly slipped from the bed, (poor Holly, who had been squashed between Minerva and I the entire night, was finally able to sprawl out and sleep more deeply) and started some coffee for all of us.**

******"Er, thanks," he said with a slight flush of embarrassment.**

******I leaned against the counter of the mini kitchen with folded arms and closed eyes. I hoped Anthony was coming with breakfast and coffee. "How did you sleep?"**

******Artemis rubbed his back. "This hotel is entire stars below my standards."**

******I smirked. "If you think this is bad, then never go to Forks."**

******"Forks?"  
"Where I met Anthony and the Cullens. Although I heard they moved to California…" I yawned. "That boy better bring back coffee, or I'm going to flog him." I realized that the others might be a little surprised by how much caffeine I required to get me up in the morning.**

****_I slipped inside, shuddering at the bells that treacherously announced my presence. The small group of teens that had been talking with a boy at the counter stopped and stared my way. Ugh. People._

_I stalked to the counter. No one was around besides them, making me squirm. I approached the counter, behind which waited a tall, lanky boy who seemed about my age._

_"One tall Italian roast, black, piping hot, no sugar; a Green tea with honey and lemon juice, also no sugar; then I'll need a French roast with cream, exactly one tablespoon of raw cane sugar, extra caffeine, make sure it's hot as well; and to top it off I'll also have one of those delightful smelling blueberry muffins," I ordered calmly in a voice as light as frost: I was too tired to be full on cold. "Would you like me to repeat that?"_

_"Uh…" the boy at the counter gaped at me as though I'd asked him to eat his own hand. Hoping to prompt him into doing as I asked, I whipped out my checkbook. The other teens stared at me._

The day I first met Anthony; he had been the boy behind the counter. Thank God I'd bumped into him, otherwise I might still be that cold with people.

"_Bonjour_," Minerva yawned as she joined us. She looked down at herself in distaste. "Artemis, can we go shopping today? I don't want to wear the same clothes again."

"We're not going to be like this for very long; Only until we find Myles and clear his mind of our identities and Claire's location. Then she'll run off to… I don't know… Tahiti or something."

"_Artemis_!" she pleaded. "That could take days, and I don't want to wear the same clothes for all that time!"

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "_Fine_, so long as you _shut up_."

"Oh goody! Shopping!"

Suddenly Holly approached us, looking like something had dragged her out of bed. She blinked, in a daze, and yawned.

"Has anyone ever told you how adorable you are, Holly?" I asked with a slight smile.

She gave me a look that suggested that perhaps she wasn't so adorable after all.

Anthony called from outside, "Could someone get the door? My hands are full."

I turned off the coffee pot, while Artemis swung open the door to reveal a heavily-laden vampire. Anthony grinned and greeted us by saying in a cheery voice, "Hello, fellow renegades!"

"What did you get?" asked Holly.

"Let's see…" he set his loot on the coffee table and fished out our breakfast. "I've got a big box of assorted muffins, a few cheese Danishes, stacks of hotcakes, a couple seafood omelets, two breakfast burritos (you wouldn't believe how hard those were to find), and while I was out…" He pulled out the main attraction, the Starbucks bag.

"Give it to me!" Mulch (when had he woken up?) cried, reaching for it. Anthony, who was a head taller then I was, didn't even need to hold it up.

"Alright, alright. For you I got a double espresso, with extra shots of caffeine. Holly gets a caramel frappuccino. Artemis gets a nice, tall Earl Grey. For Minnie I got a white chocolate macchiato. And for Claire, one tall chai tea, no cream or sugar, a triple espresso with exactly two packets of raw cane sugar, and an Irish cream with extra caffeine shots, in the spirit of our new buddy, Artemis!" He gave the Irish teen a noogie, then handed him his drink. Artemis merely scowled and stalked away so that he could attempt to enjoy his morning.

Everyone blinked at me as I collected my drinks and a muffin. "What? I need a lot to get me going in the morning."

"Well that explains why she's so short; all that caffeine," Minerva muttered in a slightly catty voice. She took a sip of her coffee and asked, "How did you know what to get me?" She frowned as she saw her name on the cup. It was surrounded by hearts and squiggles.

"How was I able to use telepathy when we were high-tailing it out of Arty's house?" he countered with a wink.

"Don't tell me you can—,"

"I open channels between minds."

"It's very useful, actually," I offered around a sip.

Her eyes widened. "Does that mean…?"

"Chill, missy. I can only read your current thoughts, and if I'm not careful, you can read mine."

"I honestly don't think I want to know your thoughts," she said distastefully.

"Ouch, that's kinda cold."

She yawned. "How did you pay for all this, by the way?"

"Minerva, that's none of your business," Artemis said around a sip.

Minerva raised her eyebrows, about to retort, when Anthony chuckled, "Hey, it's no problem. I compete in gaming competitions and earn prize money."

"You make your living by _gaming_?"

"Yeah, well, I'm able to save a lot since I don't have to eat, drink, bathe, sleep, or use the crapper."

"How do you find time to practice?"

"What part of _immortal_ don't you get?"

Holly asked with raised eyebrows, "Just how old are you?"

He chuckled a bit darkly this time. "I'm thinking old enough to be Claire, Arty, or Minnie's dad."

Minerva shuddered. "Well that's pleasant to think about," she muttered sarcastically.

"Yeah, well…" He stopped abruptly.

"Something the matter?" I asked, pausing to take note of his actions. He sprinted to the window, then ran back and threw himself in front of Minerva. "HIT THE DECK!"

The window shattered, and a small bloom of blood appeared of his back. The rest of us ducked and hid behind the wall of the mini kitchen. Two more shots were fired, both of which were taken by Anthony.

"Are you alright?" Holly gasped as she dropped to her knees beside him, her eyes wide.

"Duh, _immortal_," his hissed with a grin, though I could tell he was in pain.

"I can assist…" Artemis offered.

"Nah, I'll be okay in a few. Just… eh… just sit here. I'm going to take that guy out."

"How are you going to do that?" I asked quietly.

He stood, his wounds mostly healed already, and replied, "That guy's about to become the penny experiment."

The next instant, he was gone.

"What's the penny experiment?" Holly asked tentatively, as though she were afraid of the answer.

I answered in an amazingly calm voice, "Well, there's a rumor that if you drop a penny off the Empire State Building, it'll crack the concrete... oh dear…" I paled.

"That friend of yours _really_ creeps me out," Mulch muttered.

A scream sounded in the distance. Anthony appeared about a minute later.

"Come on, let's find a different hotel. I don't wanna stick around here when the fuzz arrives."

No one needed to be told twice.

We swept together our belongings in a flurry and rushed from the hotel, checking out as quickly as possible, despite how suspicious it must look. We hailed a cab to the other side of town, since they would be anticipating us to go back to the jet. When we checked in, Anthony watched the windows.

"No helos. Oh wait… that's a news chopper. Shoot. Alright, looks like were laying low here for a few days." He pulled the drapes closed.

Sighs and moans reverberated around me, while I collapsed on a bed. Jessie's howl from her carrier made me realize that I had not yet fed her, which I sought to do immediately.

"So we're just going to sit around?" Holly asked disbelievingly.

"There's nothing else we can do," Mulch concluded thoughtfully. "If we go out now, it will have to be in disguise, otherwise those bullets might actually find their target."

"What I'm wondering is why he went for Minerva first, even when I was right next to her," Anthony said seriously.

"It's obvious, really," said Artemis matter-of-factly. "She was the one closest to the exit, so by shooting her, the assassin would give himself a little more time to aim for the rest of us, since we would most likely hesitate before stepping over her body to escape. He did not, however, anticipate Anthony's quickness, nor his immortality. He has been labeled as a threat since his attack on the chopper yesterday. Because of these factors, we have lost an advantage."

Holly pressed, "That being…?"

"Myles had no real idea what he was up against when he first began this chase, apart from the fact that Anthony had superior strength. By simply listening in on accounts from his henchmen, he has probably been able to get a better idea of what his opponents can do, and has most likely has made a list of our known strengths and weaknesses."

Anthony rested his face in his palm, silently berating himself no doubt. I watched him in sympathy.

"Alright, listen," I said in an authoritative voice, "We have resources: Three genii, a pair of fairies with abilities yet to be shown, an immortal vampire, unlimited monetary resources, powerful contacts located around the world… We can beat him if we're careful."

"Miss Davenport, you seem to be forgetting the fact that we cannot permit Myles to discover the truth about our fairies and vampire," was Artemis' chilled reply. I'll even venture to say it was condescending. "If he does, he will most likely stop at nothing to expose them. How would you suggest we mindwipe every person on the planet with television and internet?"

"That's why I'm saying we have to be smart." _Duh_, I thought. Anthony smirked slightly. "And it's not like he'll be difficult to fool."

"Claire, you are making a very grave mistake that could cost us this entire operation."

My eyes narrowed. "And what might that be?"

"You are underestimating your stepbrother. While he isn't a genius, I believe he's smarter than you think. He hired an entire team of gunmen, pilots, and assassins to eliminate and/or capture us. He knows he has people who will help him, and he knows how to persuade them to do so. He knows how to get places quickly and without difficulty. He knows how you _think_, Claire, he's known you his entire life. To assume that he's a stupid child with no idea what he's doing is extremely foolish."

"Then what do you propose we do, Artemis?"

He began to pace, thinking carefully. "There isn't much we can do at the moment. We aren't exactly in a position to launch an attack against his forces or capture him, because we have no idea where he has stationed himself. It would perhaps be wise to lie low for a few days and try to determine where his base of operations might be, while at the same time determining routes to which we can escape in the event that he finds us. He's most likely already found my jet, so we won't be using that. We cannot use credit cards. We'll need to withdraw fairly large sums of currency, then refrain from using our cards and checks so that we cannot be tracked. We also should shut off our cellular phones and only use walkies that are on a secure channel."

My mind rattled, overloaded with the sheer amount of information that I'd just heard. He really was a genius. "S-so," I said, slightly overwhelmed. "We lie low then."

"Yes."

"Minerva's right, though," said Anthony. "You guys can't sit around in the same clothes and all, especially if we're gonna be like this for a couple days, maybe even weeks."

"Minerva will borrow some of Claire's clothes and go shopping with Mulch and Anthony."

"Why us?" Mulch inquired.

"Because Myles had not even seen you, has seen Minerva little, and cannot kill Anthony," I answered for Artemis, slightly unsettled by his effortless flaunting of his intelligence.

Artemis added, "Minerva, you will shop for yourself, Holly, Mulch, and I. You know my measurements, I assume?"

She nodded and spoke for the first time. "Yes. I'll get things that are more casual, things we won't easily be recognized in."

"Very good. Claire, if you could please find something suitable for Minerva here."

I was a little tense, I'll admit, as I fished in my bag for something she wouldn't scoff at. I decided on a white polo shirt and a knee-length pleated navy skirt.

When she came out of the bathroom, my shirt, one of the few that was actually my own and not my mother's or Joseph's, was fairly tight, and the skirt came several inches up her thighs. I was once again reminded of how small and formless I really was, which caused me to frown deeply. I wasn't the only one who was disappointed with the fit, by the way Minerva's eyes narrowed and the way she pursed her lips.

"It's just a quick shopping trip," Anthony reassured, reading her thoughts. He took off his shirt, which had a few bloodstains on it, and put on a new one. She merely pressed her lips together as she made her way out the door.

Artemis, Holly, and I gathered around the coffee table. "And now," said the Irish teen as he brought out a fistful of papers and a pen, "To business."

……………..

**So yeah, there it is. These chapters are really boring, but then that may just be me. Anywho, someone's going to have to fix that…**


	14. Shopping With a Vampire

**Okay, people, it's going to get exciting again!**

**But not now.**

**For now we have to listen to Anthony mope. But that's okay, right? We like listening in on his thoughts. .**

**Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl belongs to Eoin Colfer. Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyers. I am neither Eoin or Stephanie, so guess what that means?**

………………**..**

We meandered down the street, glancing at the various shops and such from which we could buy our necessary items.

Minnie had written down a list, which she was now staring at, as we walked down the street.

"Well, designer clothes are out," she muttered. "But I'm not shopping anywhere cheap, whether monetarily or otherwise."

I glanced at the store we were passing, the window of which featured a female mannequin clothed in fishnets and a skirt that could pass as a belt. "Aw, that's a shame." She glanced sideways at the window, then shot me a glare.

_Pervert_. I nearly burst into giggles at the sound of her thoughts. _And here I was going to thank him for saving my life!_

"Alright, we'll start here," she said, and stepped into a nearby store. I stuck my hands in my pockets, standing in the entrance of the shop to keep watch.

I leaned on the window, directly to the left of the door. My hands in my pockets, I stared up at the buildings across the street, keeping my mind fairly open to hear potential assassins.

_We pulled into the park, singing Sonny and Cher at the top of our lungs._

_"Hey, you bought your guitar, right?" I asked, addressing Adrian._

_"Mm-hm. Bring it everywhere I go, brother." He grinned as he quickly preened his fro, then got his instrument from the trunk._

_"Clint, baby, I wish you'd brought your harmonica." said Kim as she draped herself on his shoulder. "Then you could play a duet!"_

_"No way, babe." Clint adjusted his sunglasses and combed his fingers through slightly-greasy hair. "That's not how I roll."_

_I leaped over the door of my car and jogged over to get Lisa's door for her. She smiled brilliantly as she stepped out._

_"Anthony, is it just me, or do you get sweeter ever day?"_

_"I dunno," I replied, meeting her in a kiss. I tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, then interlaced my fingers in hers._

_While the others found a nice, shady spot under a tree and started chatting and strumming, Lisa and I strolled across the grass. We silently watched kids play, old people talk, teens hang out. I imagined 'You and I' by Petula Clark playing in the background. Not that I was a fan or anything, but it suited the scene fairly well…_

"Anthony!"

My eyes gained focus as I turned and barked around the corner into the store, "What?"

"Which of these is better, the white or the pink?" Minerva held up two angora cardigans.

I shrugged. "Both, I guess." I stepped inside, brushing my fingertips across a rack of coats. "They look a little fancy, though."

"I don't want to dress like Claire," she sniffed in distaste. I winced.

"Ouch. You can be so cold, Minnie."

"She's always wearing men's clothing, and things that are last decade's style. You'd think she'd at least learn to dress herself."

I narrowed my eyes with a smirk. "You know, most of her wardrobe consists of her dead mom's and brother's clothes."

She froze, then looked away, embarrassed at her own assumptions.

"I don't suppose you'd know that though. Artemis doesn't seem like one to keep people in the loop." I could see I'd hit a nerve by the way her cheeks turned pink. "Minnie, can I ask you something?" I asked as she fingered a pair of khaki pants.

Minerva sighed. "What?"

"Did you and Artemis ever have a… thing?"

She paused then, holding up the pants. She gathered then in one arm with her cardigans and moved to another rack. "We did, when we were younger. But only briefly. After he returned from his holiday, he called me, asked if I wanted to talk. We started seeing each other, going out, as you'd call it. However, after almost a year or so we realized that we were too alike, and would bore each other too easily. So we broke up with no regrets, and have been friends ever since."

I held a hand to my chest. "What a touching story."

She rolled her eyes. "What about you and Claire? Anything between you?"

"Nah, we're more like siblings."

She paused before asking a little shyly. "How did you meet?"

"I was living with the Cullens, the guys who made me like this. She walked in on me feeding."

She paled. "That's awful."

"Yeah, I attacked her a few times too, but she wouldn't leave me alone. We met up, made a truce, and have been friends ever since."

"She thinks very highly of you," the French blonde said as she passed her hand over a rack of high-quality jeans.

"I know."

"Oh. Right." _Can you hear what I'm thinking now?_ she asked telepathically.

_Yeah. You have a pretty mind-voice._

_A what?_

_Mind-voice. The voice that I hear in my head from you. Don't think too much on it, it'll just confuse you more._

_I'm not confused._

_Oh. Right. _Duh, she was a genius.

"Can we speak? It's a little awkward talking like that. I'll have to get used to it."

"No problem."

Minerva stopped in her tracks. "Hey… wasn't Mulch here a second ago?"

"He stopped next door for a sandwich," I answered immediately. That little dude was always hungry, it seemed. She nodded briefly and continued on her little search.

I watched her for a moment before asking, "Minerva, are you scared of me?"

"You attacked me, kissed me, killed men then told me about it—,"

"Okay, that's not fair. I didn't tell you _about _it."

She rolled her eyes. "How did you kill them anyway?"

"I drank their blood. It was really gross, to be honest. Tasted like crack."

"Really?" she asked with raised eyebrows. "You can sense that?"

I leaned in, lifted her chin with my index finger, and said under my breath, "Missy, I can tell you right now that your blood pressure is exactly 120/80, your temperature is about 98 degrees, your pupils are dilating even though it's fairly bright in here, your muscles are tense and you're getting goosebumps, blood is being diverted from your face, which is why you're going pale, and your pulse rate is 78—," her eyes widened as I read off her vitals, "—make that 80 bpm."

She inched backwards and whispered. "You're not going to…"

I caught on. "No. I'm more than satisfied, what with that deer and those humans. I won't hurt you, even if you were to cut yourself." This didn't relax her.

"Still, to be in the presence of something that can just _feel _that, combined with your strength, speed, and agility… It's all so unsettling. Vampires are very odd creatures."

I looked away, fiddling with a jacket…

_We sat in our circle beneath the tree, listening to Adrian play._

_"That's really something, baby," said Roxanne._

_"Yeah, it's soulful and all, real deep," Clint added somberly._

_I yawned. "Put me to sleep, bro. Real nice." I stroked Lisa's hair, since her head was in my lap. I smiled. "It makes me think—,"Kim made an expression of mock surprise, causing me to throw her an eyeroll. I reached into my pocket. "—Who's up for some enlightenment?"_

_Everyone made ga-ga eyes at my bag of peppermints. Clint was first in line, and the rest followed suit. Save, Lisa, who refused when I held up the bag._

_"Aw, sunshine, why not?" I asked as I held my own mint in my hand._

_She peered cautiously, almost apprehensively, at the bag. "Can I talk to you?"_

_I sighed, popped the mint into my mouth, and got up with her._

_We found a fairly private spot by a massive tree with branches that hung low and shaded us._

_"What's the matter with you? Why—,"_

_"They suspect what we've been doing. They think we've been doing dope."_

_I snorted, relishing the effects of the peppermint: the goosebumps, the smooth, chilled feeling, the shivers. I licked my lips, sensing an overload of drool. I leaned in to kiss her, the icing on the cake, but she sighed and gently pushed me away._

_"Tony, I think…" she sighed again. "I just don't want to do this anymore, okay? I don't like all this sneaking around, all these codes and hidden meanings for what we do…"_

_"Woah, what's your deal?" I chuckled. I made another attempt to kiss her, but she pushed me back, a little harder this time._

_"Wake up, Anthony!" she said, her voice raised. I cocked an eyebrow._

_"You, missy, are a little too worked up." I got out a mint, but she slapped it away._

_"I don't want this! I want us to both grow up, I…" I could almost hear what she wanted to say, could almost hear the things she was holding back. She hid her feelings from everyone, especially me. "Come on, Tony, let's be responsible. Let's forget what we do, focus on what we should be doing: I'm failing humanities for God's sake!"_

_The shivering was more violent, and her voice started running like molasses. I smiled absently. Just listen, stay calm, and it'll all pass eventually. She glared at me. Several times, I think._

_I stepped away, done with the conversation, and looked around. Lisa barked my name rather uncharacteristically. She said something… maybe? I dunno. Who gave a crap anyway?_

_I giggled, child-like. The sky was, like, _melting_, dude. A flock of birds flew towards the sun, shrieking, and I saw some kid throw a ball to his friend. Leaves rustled with frightening clarity, and I could see a butterfly that was six feet away like it was right in front of me. The flock flew into the sun again…_

_Lisa said something. How could she be so serious? She repeated it, her voice cracking. I cocked my head and stared at her. She shook her head and cupped her forehead in one hand. Tears ran through her fingers. I took a step towards her, paused, then turned once more to my fantastic world that only I could see._

_The flock shrieked again and flew into that dazzling, golden sun._

"I'm not a 'something'," I said bluntly, grabbing a beige sweater a little too harshly. I muttered, "How about this? I think it compliments your skin tone."

oOo

"So, wait, if he sends assassins through the window, gunmen through the doors, and others through the ventilation shaft, what do we do?"

Artemis let out an impatient sigh. Holly got it, why couldn't I?

"I shall explain this _once again_, Miss Davenport—," he was interrupted by Minerva, Mulch, and Anthony walking through the door, shopping bags in hand.

"Any trouble?" Holly asked.

"Nope," Anthony yawned. "They're most likely clustered by our other hotel, wondering where we went."

"Let's keep it that way," Artemis bade, his tone slightly warning. We collectively nodded and murmured in agreement. He sat back as Minerva fished out his clothing and laid it out for him. He admitted somberly, "It is a little casual for my taste, but it shall serve its purpose. I assume you obtained similar items for Mulch, Holly, and yourself?"

"Yes," she said. There was an odd little tint in her tone, something melancholy about it. I also noticed that she and Anthony kept a distance from each other, both a little uneasy. Artemis and I glanced at each other briefly, wondering what exactly had been said between the two.

Anthony stretched and said a little unconvincingly, "Sheesh, the whole time it was 'is this too showy?' or 'do you think this would clash with Holly's hair?' I'm going outside; I'm bored."

With that, he slipped out to the balcony.

…………………

**Alright, so there's chapter 14. I'll get the next up soon.**


	15. Super Crypticness

**I fixed chapter fourteen, so now it reads what it's supposed to, if you want to go back and read it (which you will, 'cause it's so darn exciting).**

**Anyway, sorry I've been taking so long. School, housework, and everything else are clumping together and eating up all my spare time and motivation to write. I hope this chapter and chapter 14 make up for it, folks.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own them. Never will.**

**oOo**

"Anthony?" I heard her whisper on the balcony below. I sat up and peered over the edge. I looked at her thoughts. She knew I was there, that I could hear her. She just didn't know where I was hiding.

She hugged herself in the chilly evening air, wearing a pastel green three-quarter sleeve shirt and pink cotton pajama bottoms. Her hair was damp, like she'd just showered. I swallowed. "Anthony…?" Minerva looked around, sighing, then leaned against the railing of the medium-sized balcony. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her eyes downcast. "It's just so new… One minute, you think you know something, the next you're proven wrong." She cleared her throat. Was she really that upset? "I saw Lisa, Anthony."

I stiffened.

She continued, "She looked so sad, and I couldn't hear what she was saying. Did you really care so little? Were you really only concerned with yourself?" So, her apology had turned into a confrontation. Now how had that happened? I lay back, waiting for her to go away. "Oh dear, I'm doing it again…" I heard her sniffle, causing me to sit back up. "I always pick out the bad things in people. It's a horrible trait of mine. Arty… excuse me, Artemis hated it." She wiped her eyes and cleared her throat. "I'm sorry," she said a second time, "I didn't mean to hurt you."

I looked down at her thoughtfully, my finger on my chin. She was sincere, I could see that. I nodded to myself absently as I watched her turn around to face the city.

I shrugged to myself, then leaped to the balcony with the silence and agility of a cat. I stood just behind her and to the side, looking out over the city. "Sorry for kissing you," I murmured.

Instead of turning around abruptly with a startled expression, like I expected her to, she merely gazed ahead and smiled. "I knew you were there."

"Eh, yeah. It's okay, you know."

"What?"

"I know you're a little scared. I mean, _hello_, I'm a big ugly vampire, tromping around and biting people. It doesn't help that I have, like, zero self control."

She laughed softly and sniffled a last time. For some reason, I had the strangest urge to wipe off some of those tears. "I don't think you're a big ugly vampire," she said softly, a cute little smile playing at her lips. "I personally think…um… I think you're kind of attractive." She blushed the slightest.

"Aw, I'm touched," I chuckled quietly, grinning. I said suddenly, "We didn't start off right." She nodded. Just two days ago, she had been whacking me with a belt in Artemis' basement. I extended a hand. "Anthony Rose, world's awesomest video game-playing, hair-swishing, girl-charming vampire."

She giggled and took my hand, shaking it. "Minerva Paradizo, world's most senseless French genius."

I laughed as I sat down on the bare concrete of the balcony. She sat in front of me, grinning shyly.

"Tell me about yourself, Minnie." she rolled her eyes, still smiling, at the nickname. "You've been so worried about learning about vampires, that you haven't told me a thing about yourself."

"Well… where do you want me to begin?"

oOo

"Well, it seems those two have made up," I mused as I watched Anthony and Minerva from my bed. I stroked Jessie, who purred sleepily. I was wearing my black jersey pajama bottoms, along with my horizontal-striped navy blue and white long-sleeved top.

Artemis frowned as he emerged from the bathroom, where he had changed into his grey bottoms and white t-shirt.

"They do realize we're on the run from a maniacal fifteen-year-old and hiding in a hotel that's across town from where we were discovered this morning?"

"Leave 'em be, Artemis," Holly chuckled as she sat back on the couch to watch TV. "If they want to have a little bonding time, let them." Artemis cast the pair a last displeased glance before getting a book and leaving the room to go to the second room we'd gotten next door, where Mulch was most likely snoring.

I stroked my hairless cat and asked, "Holly, can you tell me about the People?"

Holly eyed me uneasily. "Look, kid, I appreciate your curiosity and enthusiasm, but I can't be dishing out info. It's got to be kept secret."

"I understand," I sighed, a little disappointed. I looked up at the television, which featured a documentary on various species of hummingbirds. "You like documentaries?"

She shrugged. "Nothing else on."

I sighed softly, stroking Jessie. Here I was, sitting next to a living, breathing _fairy_, and she wouldn't talk to me!

"How did you and Artemis meet?" I asked after five whole minutes.

"He kidnapped me," she answered vaguely.

"Really?" I sat up, curious, but she didn't say more. I pressed, "Why would he do such a thing, and how on earth did you become friends afterward?"

The elf let out an irritated sigh in reply, causing me to keep any further questions to myself.

Annoyed and disappointed by Holly's lack of response, I decided to amuse myself to watching Anthony and Minerva talk.

'…and that's how I met Artemis. I feel so silly, now that I see how immature and spoiled I really was," I read from Minerva's lips.

Anthony was a tad harder, since he didn't move his lips as much. 'Woah. So his holiday wasn't really a holiday I guess?'

She giggled. 'No.' She became somber. 'It was so awful… almost three years went by, and I couldn't tell anyone where he'd gone or what had happened to him, even though I knew. I felt so horrible…'

'But you had Butler, right?'

'Yes. I went to his house almost every other week, hoping he'd found some news or trace… He was so sweet, though. He played chess with me, got me books.' She let out a sad little laugh. 'On days that were especially hard, he'd get me chocolates.'

'Aw, I knew he was a big softie.' Anthony said with a slight grin. 'You know, it's a lot easier to understand you now; you're losing your accent.'

'Oh. I hardly noticed.'

'Yeah.'

Minerva looked inside. 'I'm going to bed. I'm a bit tired. It was nice talking to you like this.'

'Same here, Minnie.' Anthony smiled as he remained on the balcony.

Minerva entered, yawned, and grabbed a few Euros from her wallet to get a bottle of water. I noticed something on her face I had never seen before: a good-natured smile. Even Holly gazed up at her for almost half a minute, her eyebrow shooting straight up. The elf and I exchanged amused glances.

_Anthony?_

_Yeeeees?_

_Are you and Minerva in love?_

Out on the balcony, Anthony rolled his eyes and cast me an annoyed glance. Holly and I proceeded to break into fits of laughter and giggles.

oOo

While Claire was busy giggling (IMMATURELY, might I add!), I stood up and climbed back to the roof.

Sheesh, you talk to a girl, and then everyone thinks you're an item. We didn't like each other like that even _remotely_. I mean, who cares if she was wearing that thin, form-fitting shirt that hugged her flawless curves, or that her damp blonde hair was down, and curled around her elegant face, or that she had, for the first time, spoken to me like I was an equal and not just a creepy vampire dude? I swallowed. Nope, didn't like her one bit. The only thing that mattered to me was the fact that she had boobs the size of (insert name of large state/country here).

That was it.

Besides, even if we ended up having a thing for each other, what would come of it? I mean, I'd seen how Edward and Bella's relationship was: Bella wanted to be a vampire, Edward was constantly reminding himself not to take a bite out of her, and they were both constantly and painfully reminded that Bella was gonna get old while Edward stayed the same year after year.

Did I want to go through all that trouble if I got attached? Let me answer that for you: _No_.

Did I even need a girlfriend of any sort? Another easy one: _No._

I had video games, I had Claire, heck, I even had the Cullens. I had no need for romance, even if the girl in question was totally hot, totally smart, and thought I was attractive.

I rubbed my temples. Apparently I needed to be reminded of what had happened—what I'd done—the last time I had a girlfriend.

_We pile into my car three or four hours later, still completely out of it. But hey, I was Anthony Rose. I was the dude girls at school drooled over, the dude all the guys loved and hated at the same time. I was the guy that got to go to all the good parties, all the great events, got all the best women._

_Which was why I had Lisa._

_Granted, I didn't deserve her, not even a little bit. She was smart, beautiful, and her dreams had no limits besides the stars. I was just a jerk._

_I didn't let her drive. I never did. Besides, I could do anything. Simply because I was Anthony. Please don't ask me to explain my logic, I'm still trying to work it out myself._

_Tires shrieking, I roared onto the back roads, a short way home._

_I drove like a maniac, grinning wickedly. I could feel the cold sweat beading and sliding down my forehead, the blood pound in my ears, and icy high that came with driving at eighty-something miles an hour in a convertible. My friends whooped and screamed, completely unaware that we were in danger of any kind. Except Lisa. She had to go ruin all the fun._

_I took a deep, savoring breath as I felt the best part coming on. I swerved suddenly as a burst of light and color flashed before my eyes. Laughter erupted behind me. Lisa merely gripped the armrest of her seat. I pressed the gas, tempting the car to go even faster. My pupils had shrunk to the size of pinheads, my grin had become deranged._

_My world had become nothing but a blur of green, blue, white, and grey, smears of color and light that resembled a drunken impressionist's painting. Random pops of color made me swerve slightly. The wind tossed our hair about. My hands shook on the steering wheel. I pressed harder. Up to 90 miles per hour now._

_"Anthony!" Lisa screamed. "Baby, you're going too fast!"_

_I ignored her. She had no idea what she was talking about. I was trembling now, completely dizzy. My heart beat as fast as the pistons in the engine. I passed the same houses and trees multiple times. This was what life was about, what good memories were made of. Lisa was nuts, and this was seriously the best trip I'd ever had._

_My hands clenched like vices. I tossed my head. I could still go faster._

_I licked my lips, the wind sucking a string of dribble out the corner of my mouth. It left an icy streak on my face._

_Beyond caring at this point, I stamped on the gas. Lisa shrieked as the speedometer climber higher and higher. I cackled maniacally as it read something obscenely high._

_"ANTHONY, LOOK OUT!!"_

_I could make it. I swerved around a tree I had passed earlier, only to be wrenched painfully to the present when I hit smack into the middle of a massive oak tree._

_oOo_

_My eyelids fluttered. How long had I been out? The sun was setting. The effects of the peppermint had worn off._

_I flexed my fingers and toes to find that it hurt. A lot. Stiff and in an impossible amount of pain, I managed to turn myself onto my back. I inhaled sharply as I pressed a hand to my stomach. Blood pooled around my hand. I trembled as I slowly turned my head towards the tree, from which I had landed about ten feet._

_My beloved car was completely demolished, flattened and shattered in a million places. My friends lay scattered about, unmoving, and I realized with a gut-wrenching feeling that they might not move again._

_Worst, though, was seeing her sprawled along the ground, dirty and bloodied. Groaning, I pushed myself to my knees and crawled a few feet to her._

_"Lisa?" I whispered tightly from both pain and sorrow. "Lis'?"_

_She didn't move._

_I couldn't breathe. The world was crashing and shattering into a million pieces around me, and it didn't have anything to do with drugs. I dragged myself, each strain cutting through me with agony. Blood dribbled onto the ground._

_"Lisa!" I hissed, my throat closing up. I stared at her for a long moment, then saw her shift slightly. I could breath somewhat._

_"Tony?" she whispered. Tears started streaming from her eyes, cutting clean streaks through the grime and blood on her face._

_I lay next to her. "H-hey, sunshine." My voice shook. I could feel blood ooze from the wound in my stomach, pooling around me. She carefully turned to face me. We panted and gasped for breath, weak and in unimaginable pain._

_"I told you, Anthony, I told you to slow down…"_

_"Shh," I whispered. I inched closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders._

_We lay on the cold asphalt, facing each other, wounded and tired. She cried. I held her._

_Slowly, gently, she craned her neck and whispered something in my ear. I started trembling, gripping her tighter. I started crying. No, that's an understatement. I started bawling._

_"Baby, why didn't you tell me?" I sobbed. "Why didn't you say anything?"_

_She was silent._

_I clutched her like a child who refuses to let go of his best friend. Even when her breaths became shallower and shallower. Even when she was too tired to cry. Even when she stopped trembling and her life started to ebb._

_She was getting cold when I finally heard a car go by. It stopped with a squeal and reversed, creeping back just inches from my head._

_"Oh my God, Carlisle…"_

oOo

**Okay, so there it is. I'll update again sometime this week… hopefully.**


	16. Claire and Myles: Round 2

**Alright, time to get things moving again. Now that we've seen most of Anthony's past, the story can start moving again. Just so you know, I've got just about everything planned out, and the ending is going to be one heck of a ride. So please, my loyal reviewers, bear with me while I try to juggle school, chores, friends, and writing**.

**Disclaimer: The only characters I own are the small and quick-witted Claire Davenport, and the charming (albeit reckless ) vampire, Anthony Rose. Everything else belongs to its respective authors.**

……………

The following morning, Anthony got us coffee and breakfast again, though not so much as before, then promptly returned to his spot on the roof.

I didn't find it too surprising: I'd heard some of his thoughts the previous night.

Minerva and the rest were completely flabbergasted by his lack of socialization.

"Sheesh, what's the matter with him?" Mulch asked. Apparently I wasn't the only one who noticed his gloomy behavior.

It was I who decided to go out and see if he was alright. Normally when he was in a bad mood he preferred to be alone, but I thought I'd ask.

"Anthony…" I murmured. He peeked down at me from the roof.

"Eh," he grunted.

"Everyone is wondering why you're so dreary-looking."

"Eh," he muttered again. I pressed my lips together, then opened my mouth to say something when I felt something sharp stick into my back.

"Go inside," murmured a deep, sinister voice. I looked up where Anthony had been just moments ago. _Run, _I thought, _Don't come back unless I say so._

_Claire…_

_I'll be alright. _To be honest, I had no idea if that was the case, and Anthony sensed it. However, I decided I'd obey for now.

I silently, slowly, stalked to the balcony door, opened it, and stepped inside. All while at knifepoint.

Artemis stood abruptly, followed by Holly, who looked like she was ready to hurt someone. Minerva sat, pale, while Mulch wolfed down the rest of his enormous doughnut and stood up slowly.

"Boy, you guys are dumb," Myles cackled as he walked through the front door. He held up a key card. "Good luck staying here; I just told the manager your story."

I was too frozen to answer, so Artemis retorted for me, "You mean your fabricated, edited version of it?"

Myles frowned. "You know, I would have left you alone, Arty—,"

"Master Davenport, if you would so kind as to address me by my full name, Artemis, I would be most grateful."

At this, my stepbrother narrowed his eyes and stalked up to the Irish teen. "I don't think you understand you position: You and your buddies are trapped inside a hotel on the top floor. The manager's convinced you're all insane and are going to kill his customers if you haven't already. I have a dozen men coming up from the lower balcony, two dozen men in the hall, and helicopters ready to start up when I give the word. And on top of all that, you seem to missing your kooky little buddy. Anthony, is it? So I suggest you keep nice and quiet, _Arty_."

Artemis drew himself to his full height, looking imperiously down at Myles with the most cold, but wickedly terrifying expression I'd ever seen. "And you, Myles, seem to be forgetting _your_ position. I assume you saw what our good friend Anthony did to the men on that helicopter?" Myles was silent. "I thought so. That is merely a fraction of what we can do. While we are smaller in number, we still possess powers you cannot possibly comprehend, until it is too late and we have destroyed you."

"You think I'm scared of you?!"

"If you aren't, then you should be."

Myles silently fumed, then turned to me. "You're going to get hurt, Starlet," he spat, "All because of Lucky here."

I swallowed hard, trying to will myself to not be as pale. He strode up to me, slipping out a pair of brass knuckles. "You like 'em, Starlet? They're new, never been used before. I found them online yesterday and had them imported overnight from a nice little company in Chicago." He laughed as he slid them onto his short digits. "All I have to do is hit you."

"All I have to d-do is call for Anthony, and he will give you the b-beating of your life without hesitation." I hated the way my voice faltered.

Myles' face contorted in fury at my feeble comeback. Time seemed to slow as he drew his fist back, aimed, and threw the first punch. I found it amazing that I was able to swerve out of the way in time, let alone duck and pick up a thick hard-bound book to use as a shield. Artemis winced as Myles slugged repeatedly through the massive volume.

I fell back, thrown off balance by the force of his last punch. He hovered over me menacingly, then drove his fist downward. I rolled out of the way, then drove my heel into his stomach. He staggered back, breathing hard. I rolled onto my feet and grabbed a marble bookend that was in the shape of a pillar, the perfect shape with which to bludgeon him. My hands gripped it, ready to hurt something. This was a fight to the death.

Myles' men looked on with concerned, questioning looks in their eyes. Myles snarled, "Stay back and guard the doors! She. Is. MINE!"

With that, he flew at me, fists raised. I took a breath and charged, wielding my bookend like a club. His knuckles made contact with my jaw at the same time my bookend made contact with his upper arm. We simultaneously stepped back, letting out screams of agony. Myles gripped his arm, which hung at his side limply. I touched my jaw, shooting a murderous glare at him.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!" he shrieked. He came at me again, but I clubbed his chest, causing him to fly back. I sprinted up to him, ready to do the finishing blow, but he recovered and caught my wrist, wrenching the pillar from my grasp. He threw it aside, then gripped the collar of my shirt and smashed my cheek with his free hand. He shoved me to the floor and kicked me in the ribs, knocking the wind out of me. I curled on my side, gasping for air, when a blow to my shoulder blade caused me to roll onto my stomach.

Myles took a minute to calm down, breathing heavily. One of his men handed him a bottle of water, which my opponent guzzled wordlessly. He finished it off and tossed it to the side.

"No," he said finally, both to me and himself. "I can't kill you. Mom and Dad would look into it and know it was me. And we couldn't have that, could we, Starlet?"

I said nothing, sprawled on the floor in pain.

"But I can beat the living hell out of you, claim it was self defense." He chuckled. "I ought to be a lawyer, what with all this logic I'm using—,"

Everyone froze as we heard chopper blades through the ceiling, followed by gunshots.

"Myles!" someone barked fiercely. "I suggest you put the knuckles down and get the hell out of here!"

"I suggest you make me!"

Anthony's crimson eyes narrowed sadistically, and he appeared at Myles' side in an instant. He placed his thumb on the young teen's sternum and hissed, "I know a doc, Myles. He taught me a lot about anatomy and all that. Do you know what this is?"

Artemis answered for him, "That is the xiphoid process, a sharp piece of cartilage that hangs between both sides of the ribcage and beneath the sternum."

"Artemis, remind me to get you a candy bar," Anthony praised as he kept his eyes on my stepbrother, though his tone was still dark. "That's right. The xiphoid process is supposed to offer some protection to the bundle of nerves just under your sternum. Artemis, could you tell Myles here what would to happen if I were to suddenly thrust my thumb into his chest here?"

The Irish teen swallowed. "The xiphoid process would break, possibly lodging itself into your solar plexus or heart. If the former, then your gag reflex would activate, causing you to vomit several times, and it would destroy many vital nerves and blood vessels in the process. If the latter, then your heart would stop, and you would die both from that and internal bleeding."

Myles was pale.

"You heard him: I push this little death button, and you will die right here."

"Like you could really push that hard!" he snapped.

"Is that a bet you really want to make?" Myles fell silent. "Tell your lackeys to back off."

My stepbrother glared up at him, hatred visible in every pore. "No."

Anthony pressed visibly harder, while his victim began to look sick.

"Don't kill him," I rasped finally. "They'll know it was me."

My vampire companion pressed his lips together, knowing I was right, but unwilling to simply allow Myles to leave. He opened his mouth to say something when more of Myles' men burst into the room, guns drawn. "Aim for Starlet," the young American ordered coolly. He then said smugly, "I suggest we do this my way. You let me go. We take Claire home. None of this ever happened."

"Screw that option."

"Okay. Then we shoot Claire, I possibly die, and a big investigation surrounding our deaths breaks out. Artemis and Minerva are caught. The midgets are caught. Game over for everyone."

Everyone was still, but the air around us sizzled with tension. I was at gunpoint. Anthony was at gunpoint, with his thumb on Myles' chest. Artemis, Holly, and Mulch were standing, horrified by the monstrous events that had just played out before them. Minerva was so pale she seemed about ready to faint.

"Drop the knuckles."

"Back away."

"I'll kill you."

"I'll kill you _and_ your friends."

I shut my eyes. _Let him kill me, I just want it all to be over._

_Not on your life._

_Please._

_Shut up. You're not going to die._

I tried to make the nightmare go away, tried to force the horrific images to leave my mind, but they were there, lurking and threatening to swallow me up.

I opened my eyes and glanced around at my surroundings, at what may possibly be the last things I saw. I saw the extravagant hotel room, now a wreck due to Myles' and my gladiator-style fight. I saw Myles' men. I saw my newfound comrades: Artemis, who even now appeared calm and collected; Minerva, who I'd hoped would turn out to be a good thing for Anthony; Holly, who I wished I could have known better; and Mulch, who was currently still eating as he watched everything play out.

"Hey, Fattie!" Myles barked. "Quit eating, you pig!"

Mulch swallowed, yawned, and muttered something under his breath. I caught Anthony smirk to himself. _Hey, Claire? I suggest you hold your breath._

"You know, my psychotic little American friend, we do have more than two options." The dwarf belched rather loudly. My nose wrinkled in distaste.

"You're stupid. I've got you people at gunpoint, for God's sake, there's no way you can get out of here!"

Mulch snickered. "Words of the ignorant, kiddo, words of the ignorant." He then stretched, cracked his knuckles, and let loose the most disturbing bout of flatulence I ever seen, heard, or smelled. I wisely held my breath before my mental and physical functions were affected.

"OH MY GOD!!" Myles screamed, clutching his face with the hand of his uninjured arm, his eyes streaming. Anthony, who had stopped breathing, guffawed uncontrollably as Myles' henchmen fell to their knees, choking and gagging. Mulch himself cackled insanely before striding to the door and swinging it open. People were running from our room. "After you."

My vampire companion scooped me up and fled from the room, closely followed by our comrades.

oOo

"Move it, people!" Anthony shouted above the chaos created by the evacuating hotel guests. Artemis had taken the liberty of grabbing Jessie and a few bags before running with us.

"Anthony! We need to go north. I know where a stash of LEP equipment is," Holly called. Anthony nodded, picking up information from her brain as he ran.

We made our way to the bottom floor, then sprinted through the parking lot. "Let's see…" the vampire thought aloud. "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo." He pointed to a glossy black SUV. Artemis, who had dropped the bags and was now panting for breath, was handed the disheveled and injured girl that was me. The Irish teen scowled, while I simply focused on remaining conscious.

He looked down at me, swallowed, and whispered, "Heal." Dazzling blue sparks danced before my eyes, and I could feel myself being energized, the pain ebbing and my injuries healing at an accelerated rate. He let me down, smirking to himself.

I looked down at my hands, then up at him. "How did you—?"

"I possess magical abilities."

"Back at the manor…"

"Yes, I hypnotized you, a technique known as the _mesmer_. And didn't you notice that your shoulder was miraculously healed after Anthony's attack?"

My eyes widened as I realized it was true. I opened my mouth to say something when the sound of glass shattering made me jolt in surprise.

Anthony crawled into the car through the broken window. "Mulch, hotwire the engine!"

Mulch gave a little salute, then hopped onto the front bumper and opened the hood.

"They're on their way," I reported, seeing Myles glowering down at me from the balcony, then rushing inside.

The engine roared like a ferocious animal. "Nice," Anthony cackled, savoring the thrill that came from being pursued in a very nice vehicle. We climbed in back, buckled our seatbelts, then clung to whatever we could as Anthony reversed, tires screeching, and drove off. I think he may have even broken his personal record of 130 mph.

I looked through the rear window and paled. "They're gaining!"

Anthony's face remained taut and focused. He evaded traffic, pedestrians, and objects as we howled through the London streets. Helicopters and armored vans tailed us in hot pursuit. "Hang on to whatever you've got!" the vampire yelled as he turned a hard right, straight down a massive flight of stairs into a fairly busy subway station. People screamed and bolted out of the way as the roar of the engine echoed throughout the subway system. One of the vans had actually followed us.

Anthony pressed the gas hard, shrieking through the metropolitan environment, then drove straight onto the track. His face was intense, completely concentrating on the task of getting us mortals through the subway network alive and away from Myles.

Things looked grim.

I closed my eyes, taking slow, measured breaths as I folded halfway and hugged myself.

All thought was nearly impossible, and the clearest image was one that provided neither comfort nor reassurance.

_I can remember the time of day as clearly as though it had happened yesterday. I can remember the smells of blood, antiseptic, and morphine like it had taken place this morning. I can feel the chill of the room as though it had occurred an hour ago._

_I was beyond tears at this point; I had cried back when we first found out. I was now putting up my bravest face for him. He lay exhaustedly in the hospital bed, IV's and breathing tubes of various sizes and lengths protruding from his nose and arms. No longer my handsome and wise protector, his face was grey, ashen, his once thick darkest brown hair now thin and sparse. I swallowed hard as he stopped petting his birthday present, too weak to go on._

_"A hairless cat?" he had wheezed in amusement a little over a month ago. One of his better days. He'd let out a small laugh. "We have a crazy sense of humor."I then had carefully set the small grey hairless cat on his bed. He had smiled. I had smiled._

_There were no smiles today._

The car jolted violently. My eyes remained tightly shut as my fist closed around Joseph's invisible hand.

_I stood at his bedside, my hand resting on his as he stopped petting Jessie. I never had, and never would, feel more helpless and insufficient as I did in that moment._

_ "H-hey—," he inhaled deeply, "—Why are—you—like that? So—sad…"_

_I swallowed again. "I…" The words died. The look that came across Joseph's face told me I didn't have to say them._

_"C-Claire," he rasped, "I know—that—you—are afraid—of the—future. Don't be."_

_I blinked.  
"I'll admit—I wasn't—the best—person. I—had—issues too. Like…" Myles._

_My voice was cold. "You were never like him."_

_"No—not so—bad. But we've all—had—mistakes."_

_"Why are you telling me this?"_

_"Because," he coughed, "I just—thought you—ought—to know… I don't—want us—to have—regrets. It's too—short."_

_I closed my eyes. He was more than a little delirious, I imagined, from the lack of oxygen. His meaning was clear, though: Don't be afraid of his death. Accept it knowing he'd lived a good life._

_Unfortunately, that was not good enough._

_He was nineteen, too young to leave. He hadn't graduated college, hadn't gotten married, had no children… There was too much that he could have done, were it not for this disease, this evil, wicked disease._

_"Claire." It was the clearest thing he had said. I opened my eyes. "Remember—that things—are not—always—as obvious—as you think. Things—are not always—what they seem."_

_My eyes widened, startled. Then my gaze softened. I understood now, as I closed my eyes and brought his hand to my face. His freezing, ashen hand…_

Don't leave me here all alone, Joseph.

_His breath came in shorter, more labored bursts._

Please don't.

_His machines began to beep warningly._

Please.

_Doctors and nurses poured into the room, barking medical jargon to each other._

_"Excuse me, miss, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."_

_I turned his hand. Kissed his knuckles. Grabbed Jessie. Left the room._

_Jessie flattened her ears at the sound of the panicked medical practitioners. She curled up tightly in my arms._

_"Don't worry," I lied softly, both to her and myself. "Don't worry—,"_

_beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…._

I found that tears were streaming down my face, undetected by myself for some amount of time. I took a shuddering breath and curled up tighter.

_The doctors fell silent, stopped in their tracks. I pressed my back against the wall and slid to the floor._

_Joseph was not the only one who died that day._

A hand touched my own. I looked up, suddenly and fearfully, to see Holly gazing at me in concern. "Didn't you hear? We're almost through…" I flushed, quickly drying my eyes.

Suddenly, light erupted around us as we emerged into another boarding station. Anthony smashed the brake, the tires shrieking and howling in protest. The car finally ground to a halt.

We jumped out, climbed to the platform, and ran for our lives. People watched us, apprehensive and questioning.

We flew up the stairs, every one of us breathing hard with every step, except for Anthony and Holly, and burst into sunlight. Luckily, Anthony had grabbed a jacket when he'd gone out earlier that day, otherwise, I was certain, something terrible might happen.

Anthony smashed the window of another car, one with tinted windows, and glanced at Mulch, who had already set to work hotwiring the car.

"Done," said the dwarf, hopping into the driver's seat. Anthony gaped at him.

"We will draw less attention if we drive at a more normal speed," Artemis clarified. "Besides, he knows the way and you don't."

Anthony, grumbling something unintelligible under his breath, slid into the car next to me and wrapped a protective arm around my shoulders.

"Woo," whistled Mulch. "Was it just me, or was that whole seen just overall cooler than the one scene in that one James Bond movie—,"

"Mulch?" asked Holly.

"Yes?"

"Shut up and drive."

The dwarf sighed, rolled his eyes, grabbed a small device that looked like a miniature crutch from his pocket, and attached it to his shoe. "A birthday present from my Uncle Roland. You would never have guess that…"

Holly groaned loudly and switched on the radio, turning it up significantly. "You better not get us lost, Diggums, or I just might have to find a reason to arrest you."

At that, Mulch laughed, taking a detour around traffic to move north.

I curled up into Anthony's cold, comforting torso and drifted to sleep.

……………….

**How's that for a getaway scene? Thank you everyone who's reviewed so far, I will try to write and update as much as I can.**


	17. Some Slight Delerium and a Trip South

**Sorry I didn't update sooner, folks. I got **_**grounded**_** :P But it's all good now, because I raised my grades and earned back my computer privileges.**

**So. On with our story.**

**Disclaimer: Own Artemis Fowl and Twilight? I wish.**

……………

"Claire," came a whisper. "Hey, Claire. Wake up."

I began to stir. _Where am I?_

"Few hours north of London. Holly's just getting some stuff, then we'll head to an airport." I yawned. Rain pounded the roof and windows of the car. I opened my eyes the slightest bit. "You slept a long time."

"I did," I whispered.

"You're okay now," my vampire friend murmured comfortingly. "No one's gonna hurt you now."

We all knew he was lying, but it still felt nice to hear it.

"We lost him?"

"Yeah."

I nodded weakly.

"Where are we going?"

"Minnie's thinking France, but Artemis wants to go to Berlin."

"_You've got mail!_" chirped the laptop that currently sat on Artemis' lap. The Irish teen wordlessly opened his mail account, then typed some more.

"Greetings, Foaly," he said to the webcam.

"Artemis, what in Frond's name _happened _to you?? One minute we're having a laugh about hacking each other's computers, the next, Butler tells me you're on the run!"

Artemis proceeded to explain to 'Foaly' (whoever he was) our current situation. He explained everything, from our break in, to our discovery of the People, to Myles' confrontation, to our run to London, and finally, the grand chase scene we had experienced only hours prior.

"Foaly, I'd like you to meet Claire Davenport and Anthony Rose." The Irish genius turned the laptop so that the webcam was facing us.

The person on the other side was a curious sort of person, who had a very hairy bare chest, and wore a silly tin foil hat. Sticking straight out beneath the hat, however, was a pair of large, pointed ears.

"He's a fairy," I whispered. I sat up with trembling arms and repeated with more volume and widened eyes, "He's a fairy."

Foaly moved back from the screen slightly. "You've teamed up with the crazy girl who broke into your house? Are you nuts?" Anthony shot him the same sort of glare a parent with a sick child would give to a thoughtless stranger.

"I'm not insane!" I snapped. Foaly cocked a brow.

"Foaly, will you switch to instant messenger for a minute?" Artemis asked as he turned the laptop back to himself.

The pair conversed for a minute or so via IM, until Foaly sighed, "Look, Artemis, I understand how you feel."

"That statement is questionable," said Artemis dryly.

"But," the fairy continued, "Section 8 does not, and will never, meddle with human affairs, especially ones of a domestic nature."

"Domestic nature!" Artemis scoffed in disbelief. The sound of furious typing followed. "Here is a clip of this issue of so-called 'domestic nature'."

The two were silent as Foaly watched the clip. I guessed it must have been Myles' and my first confrontation.

More sighs. "This is awful, Arty, it really is, but I can't—,"

"Holly left her helmet. If Myles somehow obtained it while at my house, he may have a direct link to the People. One does not even have to be a genius to figure out what a malevolent and powerful child can do with LEP technology."

"Yeah, I know firsthand," he muttered darkly. "Look, if that's the case and he has Holly's helmet, fine. We'll send in Retrieval and wipe his mind. If not, then I'm afraid to say you're on your own." Artemis narrowed his eyes. "I don't make the rules, I just follow them."

"I only hope it's not too late when you finally decide to heed my warning," the Irish teen said coolly, then closed out of the window. He glanced at us, then returned to his laptop.

I curled up in Anthony's arms once more, clutching his shirt as a child would. My vampire companion opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Holly and Mulch, who both dove into the vehicle, carrying between them a large black duffel bag, the contents of which were unknown to me.

"Alright," said Holly seriously as she climbed in and buckled up. "Let's roll."

"Let's roll?" Mulch asked incredulously. "That's the epic phrase you use as you enter a stolen getaway vehicle, 'let's roll'?"

Holly rolled her eyes. "Just drive us to the nearest airport."

oOo

We arrived in Paris within the hour, despite everyone's opposition to the idea. Minerva had gotten her way, and was currently en route to her home with Anthony to warn her family to lie low, then we would fly on to another city, perhaps Berlin, and attempt to find a way to evade Myles.

So all I could do at the moment was sit about on my laptop, monitoring my accounts to be sure that Myles wouldn't use any of my assets to harm us.

I shut my laptop and blinked blearily in the dark room. Holly lay curled up in our bed, snoring softly. I watched her for a moment, my eyelids heavy. It was early, perhaps six in the morning, and the curtains were drawn, causing the room to be dim and chilly.

I got up and fished out some clothes: a pair of khaki pants, one of Joseph's white button-up shirts, and a brown sweater-vest. I slipped my feet into a pair of classic brown penny loafers, shrugged into my black Burberry coat, grabbed my wallet and checkbook, and crept out the door.

The streets of Paris were chilly and grey, as it was drizzling outside. I tilted my head skyward, inhaling the delicious aroma of rain and coffee.

I stood squarely before the coffee shop, staring up at the same name I'd seen several years ago, the paint of which was now chipped slightly and peeling in some areas.

_"_L'endroit habituel_?" my nine-year-old self inquired of my older brother. "The Usual Place?"_

_"Yep," he said, smiling at my flawless French. We stepped inside, my hand clutched in his, and found a small table inside. I adjusted the navy blue beret he had bought for me earlier, observing the locals who sat about and chatted in French. "I've heard they make some good lattes here," Joseph chirped. I nodded absently, still curiously looking about at the other patrons._

_He silently got up and made his way to the counter, leaving me alone at the table. He coughed on his way back to his seat; he'd been recovering from a cold for some time now, and Georgiana had suggested that he see a doctor. For now, though, he was simply content to take me to Paris, convinced that his ailment would go away with time._

_We sat in silence for a bit while we waited for our drinks. I fiddled with a piece of my hair, which was much lighter then and fell to my shoulders._

_"So how do you like France?"_

_I glanced at my brother, my dearest friend, and gave him one of the last genuine smiles he or anyone else would see for the longest time._

_"_Je l'aime ici. Je souhaite que nous ne soyons pas partis tellement bientôt._"_

_He grinned. "Two weeks isn't long enough?"_

_I beamed and shook my head. We were both pleased that I had picked up on the language so quickly, and I had barely said an English word since arriving in France._

_But then, I generally picked up on things quickly._

_"_Le tableau deux, vos ordres sont vers le haut_!" called the skinny waitress from behind the counter._

_"There's our drinks," Joseph said as he stood, punctuating his statement with a cough. I winced. He'd been sick for two months now, with no signs of his cough recovering._

_When he returned with our drinks, I took mine and tentatively sipped. The latte was exceptionally good, I agreed, and when I set my drink on the table, Joseph laughed. A little dab of whipped cream had gotten on my nose._

A sweet memory. I smiled slightly, absently, oblivious to the now pouring rain that had plastered my hair to my face. Had he been alive today, I wouldn't have to drag strangers into my issue with Myles. Joseph would probably live on his own, and I would live with him. And I would be able to graduate highschool at fifteen, and go on the college, and we could start a business together. Perhaps a coffee shop…

And I would be completely and totally free of Myles.

I inhaled deeply, drinking in the scent of the freezing rain and steamy coffee beans. So many possibilities unfulfilled, so many hopes shattered.

I sighed. It was these thoughts that always ruined my day. I pushed the door open, stepping into a warm, familiar place that was all my own.

oOo

"Woah," I whistled as we pulled into Minerva's driveway. "Nice pad."

"Zank you, Anthony," she accepted somberly, her accent thick since arriving in her own country. I cast her a concerned sideward glance. She'd gotten so serious, so focused on keeping her dad and little brother safe. She'd barely slept through the night, and had jumped up when I suggested we leave early. I was worried. And if you know anything about me, you know that it takes a lot to get me worried.

"You know, we could always go back for some coffee and breakfast," I suggested lightly. "I can treat…"

"I would feel much better if I knew the exact status of mine and Artemis' immediate families, Anthony, so if you don't mind I would prefer if you didn't make any more silly suggestions."

I winced. Ouch.

"Alright, alright," I said smoothly, trying not to let her see how much her brusqueness had stung. "But we can't stay long; we don't want to lure Myles here."

"Of course," she continued sternly, oblivious to my feelings, "But I simply want to warn my family, let them know that I'm alright. I must do that much, at least."

"Couldn't you do that via webcam? Like Artemis?"

She stiffened, her fists clenching. "While electronics may be fine proof for him, a physical confirmation is the only confirmation that will suffice for me."

"'Cause computers can lie?" I offered, picking up on a few memories. Memories of her house under siege by fairies, of cameras and networks getting hacked and her experiment stolen from right under her nose.

"Yes," she replied, slightly less tense. "They very often do."

……………

**I'll get another chapter or two up before break ends. Thank you, everyone who's waited so patiently.**


	18. Abduction

**Just a quick chapter for now, folks.**

**Disclaimer: What I wouldn't give to own Artemis Fowl and Twilight…**

……………

We made our way to the door, where Minerva pressed a few buttons on the intercom. "Father? Are you there?"

"_Mon dieu! _Minerva, love, where 'ave you been?" came a heavily-accented voice.

"_J'ai peur que je ne sois pas libre pour parler dehors ici, père. Le Beau et les Fowls sont-ils avec toi?_" she continued in French. _I'm afraid that I'm not free to speak out here, Father. Are Beau and the Fowls with you?_

There was a long pause on the other line. So long that I had to reach out with my mind to see if I could pick up anything.

_"You will tell her to come inside. The Fowls are safe, and have been staying here."_

_"I will do no such thing!"_

_"Sir, the heat seekers aren't picking him up…"_

_"Impossible…"_

_"Shall we send in a team?"_

_"No. we need them to cross the border we created around the house or else they'll be able to use their cell phones. Get them in here."_

_"I will not bring my daughter into your petty schemes! If it is a problem with your sister, then why do you need Minerva??"_

_"You're taking too long, Doc, she'll know something's up. Say it. Now."_

_"No."_

"Father? Father??" Minerva tapped the buttons a few times.

I gripped her arm in my stone-like white hand and pulled her away. She staggered behind me, struggling against me with all her might. "What are you doing?! Are you insane?!"

"We're out of here."

"But—,"

"Don't ask questions."

She stopped still at the finality and authority in my voice. Then her face turned pale as she realized what must be happening. "We need to go back! We need to help them!"

"They're fine, as long as we don't go in the house. Cell phones are scrambled within the perimeter, and I can guarantee you, there's a whole bunch of men waiting for us."

"NO!" she shrieked hysterically. "I can't leave them! Please!"

I turned on her, causing her to nearly run into me. "What do you possibly think you can do?!" I shouted.

She stared at me.

"You're scrawny, out of shape. You have no weapons, no means of defending yourself besides me and those brains of yours. Once we go onto that property, we will disappear, and not Artemis, Claire, or anyone else will be able to find us. So I suggest you stop stalling and listen to me, so that we can get out of here before—." I stopped mid sentence, shifting myself at vampire speed so that I was in such a position to block the tranquilizer dart that had been shot at Minerva.

I reached behind and yanked it out of my back, turning to face Myles' crew.

"Get in the car," I hissed under my breath.

"I—,"

"Stop questioning me and _get in the freaking car_!"

She watched me a moment longer before turning and sprinting to the car. They left her alone, watching me intently, waiting to see just what I would do.

It would be so easy to just kill them all. _Run in, snap the far left's neck, kick his buddy in the stomach, spin and drive your fist into the bald one's face…_ My strength was Herculean compared to them; they were toothpicks and cotton, and I was a hardcore body builder. My speed was downright scary; they were ants, and I was a cheetah. I could crush them, destroy them, obliterate them. It would be too easy. Sickeningly easy. My leg muscles tensed, though my opponents wouldn't notice the subtle movement. I inhaled, scenting their blood. I reached out with my mind, picking up on their intentions.

_They won't know what hit them, _hissed that fiend I kept locked up in the back of my mind. My vampiric nature. _Drink it all. Go ahead, be a glutton; no one's stopping you. And while you're at it, you can take a bite out of that princess too._

_Not Minerva, _I reminded myself firmly.

I glared at the opposition, reading a few trace thoughts, then froze. I turned to the car, my eyes widened, my animosity evaporated, and watched as a gas bomb exploded within.

"NO!" I screamed, sprinting to the vehicle.

_KAPOW!!KAPOW!!RATTARATTARATTA!!_

I can't even remember how many I took. Just the unwavering agony that threatened to tear me apart. I fell, curled in a fetal position, holding myself tightly, screaming inhumanly. Blood pooled around me, staining the gravel crimson.

The world grew hazy as I passed out. No doubt I would wake up in a few minutes, but they would be long gone by then.

Long gone with Minerva.

I let out a tortured hiss as I realized that I, Anthony Rose, world's most irresponsible, illogical jerk, had screwed up once again.

oOo

"They should be back by now," Holly muttered as she sipped her latte. Artemis and Mulch had joined us in our room, and we were now having some coffee and sitting around.

"It's 11:37," Artemis murmured, glancing at his glistening Rolex. "They've been gone for hours…"

I looked down into my lidless coffee cup somberly, still tired and slightly nostalgic from my morning of reminiscing. There was a part of me that knew something had happened. And I knew that Artemis felt it too, that feeling of dread but certainty. All of us, however, were surprised when a tense white shape burst through the door, his shirt completely shredded, his bare chiseled torso whiter than milk, his eyes a sickly salmon color.

I inhaled sharply, standing up so quickly that I dropped my cup, and rushed to his aid. "Anthony," I exclaimed as I threw my small frame under his shoulder in an attempt to support him, "What happened to you? Where's Minerva?"

At the last question, he pushed me away and covered his face with one hand, his breathing ragged. I reached out, wanting to touch him, comfort him, _help _him in any way possible, though I knew I could not.

"What happened to her?" Artemis demanded, his voice an uncharacteristically deadly hiss.

My vampire companion took a long minute to steady his breathing and compose himself. When he had decent control over his emotions, he straightened himself and cleared his throat. "Minerva and I walked up to her house and pressed the intercom button," he began, his words agonizingly slow and measured. His voice was so soft I could scarcely hear it. "She asked if her dad was there, and… he answered her. She asked if her brother and the Fowls were there, but told him she wasn't able to talk openly outside. Then there was a really long pause, so I checked it out…" He took a deep breath, as though saying it physically pained him. "I told her we had to get out of there, that Myles was waiting for us in there, but that only made her more determined to get in. I dragged her away and tried to get her in the car, to safety, but I… I got shot, and they… they…took her."

Mulch looked uneasy, Holly looked alarmed, but Artemis looked livid. He stood before Anthony, merely three-quarters his size, and glared in him with such animosity that it made me recoil. I had never seen the Irish teenager lose control of himself like this… it was so frightening, so horrible…

"You let them take her," he said in an eerily calm voice, though I could still feel the apprehensive edge in it, the edge that cut Anthony like a razor blade, making him wince slightly. "We trusted you—no—_I_ trusted you to keep her safe, and you took her straight into harm's way. Did you not think to scout ahead? To look for danger? To check all minds within your radius before you even came within a mile of the premises?"

Anthony was silent.

"No. You didn't. And why would that be?" Artemis' voice was freezing by now, though only slightly elevated. Anthony still could not provide and answer. "Were you so preoccupied with showing off, with stunning her with your reckless driving, your physical and mental prowess, that you didn't think once that you would be in any kind of danger? Well? Was she impressed? Was she thoroughly frightened and entranced by your beauty and grace, Anthony Rose?"

I swallowed and came to my friend's defense. "Artemis, please, he—,"

"If he had been more conscientious of his surroundings, then Minerva wouldn't have been taken!"

I stared at him in disbelief at his hostility. Then my expression hardened, and I bellowed back, "It's not his fault!!"

"It very well is!"

"You have no right to treat him like this! After everything he's done for us, he makes one little mistake and you—!"

"If he wasn't so utterly—!"

"Do NOT interrupt me, Master Fowl, or you will very much regret it!" I stopped and took a few shaking breaths, trying to calm myself, and I noticed he did the same. "Look," I amended after a long moment of silence, "Now is not the time to be arguing. We need to pull together and try to find a way to get her back."

"We can't," Artemis said dismally. "Myles knows we're here. We need to get out of Paris while we can."

"No!" gasped Holly. "What about Minerva? And your family? We can't just leave them!"

"Myles knows he can't harm them, and he'll be preoccupied with trying to arrange for both families to remain under guard here. Meanwhile, we will leave for a smaller city, perhaps in Germany, and plot our next maneuver."

I was silent, trying to think of a way to regain Minerva while at the same time not compromising our own safety—again.

"Let's wait till tomorrow. If we can't think of an alternative by then, we'll leave."

"Very well. Does anyone oppose to that plan?"

"No," Holly and Mulch said almost in unison. I glanced around the room in search of Anthony to see how he would respond, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Where'd he go?"

…………………

**Here's where things are gonna get interesting. What's gonna happen to Minnie? And are Anthony and the rest going to be able to cope? And just how is Claire going to deal with her vampire companion's obvious attachment to Minerva?**

**We'll just have to see then, won't we?**


	19. Anthony's Second Chance

**I hope everybody had a Happy Thanksgiving (I know I did. Gotta love those candied yams and cranberry sauce…)**

**Okay, so here's the next chapter. It feels like things have been settling and getting dull again, though that may just be me. If that's the case, then rest assured, I'll heat things up again. **

**I can't thank you all enough for the reviews you've posted. Over 50! That's more than I've ever gotten. Thanks oodles!**

**Anyway, here it is. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl or Twilight. Period.**

………………………**..**

I sat up abruptly, gasping for breath. How long had I been unconscious? Where had my captors taken me? My throat tightened at the sight of my unfamiliar surroundings: I was in a small, dark room containing only a single white cot and a small table.

The _click_ of the door opening made me start.

"Miss Paradizo, will you come with us?" asked one of the two suited figures that opened the door. I merely sat on my cot, staring at them confusedly. After a few moments, the other strode in, roughly took my arm, and yanked me to my feet.

The harsh florescent lighting hurt my eyes, and my feet, currently in boots with three-inch heels, were not very happy either. They led me down a narrow corridor to a solitary door, opened it, and brought me inside.

I stood in the dimly lit conference room, gaping at my surroundings. The room seemed to have been in disuse for months at least, judging by the amount of dust that a lone maid was currently cleaning off of all the surfaces.

Suddenly, a small light in the corner of the room flickered to life, followed by another in a different corner, then another. This continued until the room was brightly lit, and I was standing before a long glass conference table, surrounded by empty chairs. Except one, the occupant of which sat with his back to me.

I swallowed.

"Miss Paradizo—Minerva," he greeted as he swiveled to face me. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you." His voice was charming, innocent, as though he were nothing but a mild-mannered teenage boy. However, I knew otherwise.

"Myles Davenport," I returned coldly, my gaze never leaving his.

"Have a seat. Would you like anything to eat or drink?"

"I'd prefer to stand, thank you," I lied; my feet were killing me. "And no, I wouldn't like anything at the moment."  
"You're pretty good at covering your tracks, you know," he said lightly with a boyish grin. "Gave my tech team a heck of a time finding anything on you. Not to brag or anything, but I hired the best of the best. Don't feel too bad about it."

I remained silent, waiting for him to explain himself. My shoulders were rigid, my hands tense and shaking.

After a few long moments, he sat back in his chair and knit his fingers together, looking for all in the world like a young businessman. In fact, he looked disturbingly like a young Artemis. I shivered and took a sharp, involuntary breath.

"I have a proposition for you, Minerva."

oOo

I couldn't think straight that night. I rarely spent time in the hotel, and when I did, I could always feel Artemis' scrutiny. So I spent as little time there as possible.

I crouched on the corner of an old museum, staring blankly out over the city, which was now caught between the hours of day and night. I let out a slow breath. It wasn't just the fact that I'd utterly failed and let her be taken, but that I'd let everyone else down. Again. A cold breeze ruffled my hair, and I let out another breath, going stiff with fury at myself. To the innocent passerby, I must've looked like one of the stone gargoyles that surrounded me, crouched menacingly on the corner of the museum.

_I let out a shriek of agony._

_"GET OFF OF ME!!!"_

_"Emmet, hold him still!" barked an oddly familiar voice. What was his name… the doctor with all the kids… Cullen? Yeah… Carlisle Cullen._

_I writhed stubbornly. "LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"_

_A pair of vice-like hands pinned my shoulders to the table, rendering me immobile. The pain in my gut was unbearable, cutting through me with every panicked breath and movement, but I didn't care the least. I wasn't going down like this. No way._

_"Emmet!"_

_"I don't want to hurt him!"_

_Another pair of hands grabbed my legs and pinned them as well. It felt like someone had laid a few cinderblocks across my shins._

_"Thank you, Alice."_

_ I let out an inhuman scream and thrashed around with every bit of force I could muster. "GET AWAY FROM ME!! LET ME DIE!!!"_

_I was the picture of insanity, an example of immeasurable pain and rage. My tortured screams reverberated around me._

_"Carlisle…" whispered a soft female voice, the same voice that had exclaimed as they had stopped their car and loaded me and my friends into it. She sounded pained. "Let him go. Please."_

_"Esme," the doctor murmured back, "Look at him. He's so _young_."_

_"I don't believe he wants or deserves the second chance you wish to give him," came a cold male voice. Another familiar one, but I couldn't place the name. "He was driving while under the influence of these." I heard the rustle of a plastic bag. My peppermints. "And as a result, he has killed five people. Such clear disregard for human life should not be mingled with our strength and prowess. He's going to hurt someone, and we will be at fault."_

_"Everyone deserves a second chance, Edward. We could help him."_

_"This may be an exception."_

_"Help me."_

_"GET AWAY!! I JUST WANT TO DIE!"_

_Edward's narrowed eyes flickered to me then Carlisle as he backed away and hissed, "I'll have no part in this."_

_I struggled harder as Carlisle sighed and turned to face me. He took a deep breath, then calmly strode up to me. He gave me a small, reassuring smile, then cradled the back of my head with one hand. I could no longer move._

_"No!" I hissed. "No! NO! Leave me alone!"_

_"You're going to be fine, Anthony. Just calm down…"_

_"NO!"_

_He paused, looking down at me with a thoughtful expression, like he was having second thoughts. "I'm giving you another chance. Please."_

_"Carlisle, he obviously doesn't want this. Just leave him be," said a new female voice._

_The only sound in the room was the sound of my ragged, animalistic breaths. Slowly, my captors released me, leaving me on the table. I lay, drenched in sweat and blood, dying._

_There was no point in living anymore. I'd killed the only people I cared about, killed Lisa, and possibly… My eyes started burning. Hot tears streamed down either side of my face, leaving icy trails in their wake. I clenched my jaw, staring ahead at the ceiling._ Let me die,_ I begged whatever deity would listen to me. _Please, just let it all end.

_I cried, oblivious to yet ever aware of the solemn gazes of everyone in the room. _I… I…

_"He doesn't want to die," said Edward suddenly._

_"What?"_

_"That is, he's not sure what he wants. He'd very much like to die, but at the same time, his youth causes him to fear death."_

_"Anthony," said Alice, the girl who'd pinned my legs earlier. She now stood over me, a hand held tentatively to my cheek. "Do you really want this?"_

_I breathed heavily, shaking uncontrollably. I wanted to die. I…I _wanted_ to die. I…_

_"He's bleeding internally. If we're to do this, we have to act now."_

_I was tense, in pain, scared. I couldn't think straight. My vision was getting blurry. I rested my head on the table, my breath shallow. I....didn't care._

_My eyelids fluttered and finally closed. They could do what they wanted to me, it didn't matter anymore. None of it mattered._

_I felt Carlisle's hand on the back of my head again._

_"Carlisle, he has nothing to live for, I promise you. This is a mistake."_

_Carlisle pressed his lips together, looking from Edward to me. After what seemed like forever he leaned in and whispered, "This will only hurt for a few days, I promise."_

_Then my breath halted in my throat as I was overwhelmed with the most immense wave of pain I ever had and ever would feel._

I wondered if Edward had seen that I'd be a screwup, that I'd bring nothing but misery to everyone around me for more than forty years. He couldn't have seen that, no one did.

But I had been determined to make everyone as bitter and miserable as myself.

I rubbed my forehead and stood to leave. This was pointless, and I was only making myself feel bad. Claire and the others would probably be freaking out by now anyway, so I figured it was best to head back. I stood, looking out over the city a last time before disappearing into the shadows of the backstreets and alleys of Paris.

oOo

"Anthony," I gasped, startled by his sudden entrance through my window. I'd been in the process of changing into my night clothes. I clutched an oversized brown sweater, one of Joseph's, to my bare chest. My vampire friend turned and allowed me to slip it on, which I did quickly, then faced me with a somber expression.

"Claire," he murmured, his eyes downcast, "Why do I keep failing?"

I gazed up at him for a long moment, unable to think of what to say to him for the longest time. "You don't… I…"

"Yeah I do. I left you to be chased by Myles. I gave away the fact that I'm a vampire. I nearly killed Minnie and you. I got her captured…"

"Nonsense. Those are mistakes anyone could've made."

"Yeah, normal people. Mortals who can only move at a snail's pace and can't read minds. I'm a complete failure."

I couldn't help but feel a wave of sadness upon seeing his defeated expression.

"No, Anthony," I said quietly. I strode up to him and, standing on my tiptoes, wrapped my arms around his neck. I planted a gentle kiss on his fair cheek. "No. Without you, we'd all be dead. Without you, I'd be a prisoner to Myles."

"Like you aren't now? You've had to run from him across a good portion of the US and Europe. He's hurt you so much, and I could've prevented most of it…"

"You make every ounce of torment bearable. You are my dearest, most precious friend, and I would be an overly medicated, drooling psychological case by now if it weren't for you."

There was a long period of silence. He paused a moment, then embraced me. "Thanks, Claire."

I smiled. A real, genuine smile. One of the few I'd had since Joseph had died.

A sharp series of knocks at the door interrupted our moment.

"Artemis," Anthony breathed. "Minnie's back."

The suddenness with which he released me and rushed to the door startled me. However, I shook it off. I would not allow myself to become a jealous individual.

We hurried to the adjacent room, where everyone was now gathered around a flushed, slightly uneasy Minerva.

"…I wasn't sure if I was going to make it back. If the guard hadn't been sleeping…" She turned around to face us, a soft smile gracing her lips. I could see, however, that she'd had some sort of ordeal: her arms, neck, and legs were bruised, and she smelled faintly of sweat and dirt.

I raised my eyebrows. "Minerva… how on earth…"

"It doesn't matter. All that matters is that I escaped and made it back here."

"Escaped from where?"

"Myles said it was called _La Chambre de L'argent_, or something like that. He completely butchered the pronunciation." I nodded.

"The House of Silver. One of our winter homes; my parents loved Paris. We haven't been there for years, though, not since…" I stopped myself and continued, "He must've set it up as a sort of base of operations."

"It would make sense," chimed Artemis, "It's fairly central, and a mansion makes a fairly good base if properly equipped."

"Looks like we underestimated little Myles, huh?" said Holly.

I nodded in agreement, watching Minerva intently, when I noticed she focused her attention on something behind me. I stepped to the side, allowing my vampire companion to come forward. Silence hung in the room like a wet wool blanket…

Slowly, one step at a time, Anthony strode to Minerva. They stood before each other in silence, looking each other over. After the longest moment of suspension I'd ever seen, Anthony took a final step and drew her into an embrace, causing her to widen her eyes slightly. After a moment, her gaze softened.

"I forgive you," she whispered, slipping her arms around him.

I watched them both with a critical eye. In my mind, there was something odd about Minerva's sudden and miraculous escape. Only one day, and she finds a way out? And how did she conveniently show up before the time we'd designated we'd be leaving in the event she didn't return? My eyes narrowed the slightest, but I forced myself to relax.

Minerva was back, and Anthony was happy. That was enough.

……………………**.**

**Glad I was able to update a few times this week. Thanks for reading an reviewing, I'll try to get another one up during the week.**


	20. I Know This Pretty Rave Girl

**Okaaaaay so obviously I didn't get around to updating for a while. I apologize for that. The only excuse I have is a really bad case or writer's block. I'm so sorry to those who reviewed and subscribed. I'm also sorry to say this chapter, though it's pretty substantial, is basically filler before the climax…**

**You are in luck though, as my writer's block miraculously cleared up and it's getting good again. I just thought I'd post another chapter and let everybody know I'm going to try to start updating (yeah, I know, 'I've heard that one before'… sorry T.T) on a more continual basis. So yeah, here's this chapter. The Climax is coming soon, and ohhhhhhh it's amazing.**

**Of course, that's a little ways off, so I'll just shut up and post this lame chapter.**

…………………………**..**

Berlin proved to be an excellent choice for hiding; We waited there undisturbed for two weeks, watching, planning.

Artemis had come up with several plans to expose Myles, most of which included using me as bait. However, he dismissed these due to the fact that he didn't trust me to behave according to the plan while distracted by Myles. I knew he was right, and didn't argue.

Anthony, meanwhile, took it upon himself to keep both me and Minerva under constant watch and, while it was a very sweet and noble thing to do, both I and my French counterpart found it very annoying. We both knew it could not be helped, however, and thus allowed him to guard us with frightening subtlety and diligence.

After a while, we became bored of the monotonous daily routine, consisting of Starbucks in the morning, loafing in the afternoon, and plotting in the evening. All of these activities proved to be unproductive and boring, and we all quickly grew tired.

However, we were all surprised when Anthony suddenly burst into the room unannounced, and cackled as he waved about a handful of cards.

"Get dressed, kids, we're going to a rave!"

The other five occupants of the room, including myself, collectively blinked.

"Anthony," began Holly sternly, "What are those?"

"Fake ID's," my vampiric friend answered smugly.

"And why will we be needing them?"

"Because you can't get into a good, old-fashioned, European rave if you're under eighteen at least!"

"We're not going to a rave," said Artemis matter-of-factly.

Anthony leaned in and chuckled in the Irish teen's face, "And who's gonna stop us, Mr. Stick-in-the-mud?"

Artemis scowled, then sighed and rolled his eyes in resignation as he realized the futility of arguing with Anthony on this particular matter. "What is the meaning of this anyway?"  
The vampire shrugged. "Things were getting so dull around here. You may not realize this, but you all look like the living dead. And trust me, I know what that looks like."

Holly raised an eyebrow. "And you think some crazy party filled with crazy people doing crazy things they shouldn't be doing is going to help because…?"

"Trust me. It will. Now are you people getting ready or what?"

oOo

Twenty minutes later, I stood crossly just outside the bathroom, my eyebrow raised at Minerva.

"Hm…" she hummed, tapping a finger to her lips. "Well I was hoping they would accentuate those nonexistent curves of yours."

I rolled my eyes and looked down at the thin and loose-fitting violet halter top, the cropped white shorts, and the black hi-top converse. My hair had just been tamed and forced flat by Minerva's iron, but a few strands were already beginning to stick out. She slipped a pair of hair bands from her pocket and tied my hair into low pigtails.

Minerva herself was wearing a magenta tube top and black miniskirt, accompanied by a pair of strappy black flip-flops, her hair swept into a messy bun.

"This is ridiculous," I grumbled, extremely self conscious of my scrawny, shapeless figure (my chest was practically flat, for heaven's sake!). "We don't need to—"

"Wooooah," cackled Anthony, causing me to whip around to face him. He leaned against the wall with his arms folded as though he'd been there the whole time. "Claire, I don't think I've ever seen that much of your skin."

I flushed a deep red. Why did he have to be like that?

"And Minnie…" He grinned. "Artemis would probably kill me if I said what I was thinking about you. The hair clip's a nice touch."

Minerva's hand self-consciously went up to the large silver barrette that adorned her head. She openly rolled her eyes and smirked.

"You guys almost ready?"

"Just need to do our makeup. You know how to apply eyeshadow, don't you?"

I wanted to say yes, but the blank expression I gave the metallic lilac eyeshadow answered her for me. She rolled her eyes again and growled.

"Come on, let's get you ready."

I sighed. This was going to be a long evening.

oOo

I couldn't help but tremble slightly upon walking into the dark room of blaring techno music, flashing lights, and masses of writhing, partying young people.

"SWEET! They got body paint!" Anthony whooped. He looked over at me with a slightly maniacal grin as the others began to scatter. I merely glanced sideways at him in terror.

My vampire friend moved in and put an arm on my shoulder. "Claire," he said reassuringly, "You look fine. No, actually… you look really pretty."

I scowled. "Liar."

"No lie. I swear, if you wore makeup and dressed your age and gender on a regular basis, Minnie might have some competition. I think it would do you well to eat more though…"

I shuddered at the thought of Anthony trying to pursue me as he was Minerva, causing him to cackle and lead me to the bar.

"Let's see… I'll have two of those crazy-looking things in the beakers," he ordered for us.

"ID's?" the barmaid prompted in a raspy voice.

I guiltily flashed mine, while Anthony proudly displayed his like a badge of honor. I shrank as the drink was placed before me.

"Relax, missy," my vampiric friend bade as he took a swig of his drink. He giggled rather uncharacteristically.

"But I… I've never had alcohol before. I'm not even the legal drinking age…"

Anthony rolled his eyes and nudged my drink closer. I sighed, holding it up and staring at the eerie green liquid in resignation, then, after several long moments, took a sip. It tasted almost like green apple.

"There ya go!" my companion cheered. "I always knew there was a rebel in you!"

"Erm, yes…" I agreed, slightly dazed by the fact that I'd actually drunk alcohol… and liked it. I stared down at my glass, then took a few more sips. "You know, this actually isn't that bad… Anthony?" I glanced around, only to find that he wasn't there. "Anthony?"

oOo

"Erm, yes…" Claire agreed, slightly dazed. I smirked.

Then a flash of glitter caught my attention.

A lone figure stood silhouetted against a large green strobe light, her hands clasped together in front of her. I stood and made my way to her, nudging aside anyone in my path.

"Minnie," I breathed. Her milky blue eyes flickered to meet mine.

"Oh, hello. I thought you were with Claire?"

I shrugged and glanced back at my friend, who was watching me with a chilled expression. "She's discovering the joys of alcohol. Want to dance?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Er…"

I smirked to myself, then tossed my head so that my hair was out of my eyes. I gazed down into her blue eyes with my own amber. Her breath stopped for a brief moment before she finally nodded slowly and said, "Very well."

With a fluidity and grace I didn't know she possessed, Minerva swept onto the dance floor and began to dance.

My eyes widened slightly as I watched her move. She was like a living work of art, from her always-moving hips and slender waist, to her graceful arms and prominent collarbones (set above a lovely chest, might I add) to her cool, detached expression. Her eyes met mine.

"When one person asks another person to dance, it generally means _with them_."

I grinned and chuckled to myself. "Sorry, just spacing out." I slipped onto the dance floor, smiling down at Minerva like I didn't have a care in the world.

oOo

I could barely suppress the jealously and incredulity that caused my lips to curl back in a grimace. How could he just, and pardon the casual language, _ditch _me??

_"Claire," he vowed somberly, collecting me into an icy embrace. "I will never, ever leave you. I promise that I'll love you, and protect you better than any friend or brother." His sincerity astounded me, and he felt this, so he added, "They screwed you up, took everything and gave nothing back. I want fix you, Claire. I want to make you better, so you can stop hurting like this..."_

A stab of pain caused me to let out an inaudible hiss through my teeth. He'd abandoned me, left me for someone more intelligent, more beautiful, more sane—

"You okay, mud girl?"

I blinked, my thoughts shattering around me, and inhaled sharply. Holly sat next to me, ordered a drink, and leaned back against the counter. Her mismatched eyes lit with understanding as she caught sight of what I'd been looking at.

"You two have kind of a weird relationship, huh?"

I stared blankly ahead, my cold blue eyes boring holes into my vampiric friend. Yes, our relationship was odd. Anthony was my friend, my shield, mine and mine alone. I required his smart-mouthed, annoying presence to get me through each day. He reminded me so much of Joseph, though they were nothing alike save one aspect: they both had been the only people to care for me unconditionally. How could I explain it any better? He was like air to me, a constant, never ending, unvarying necessity.

I _needed_ him.

I wanted to tell her everything, but I restrained myself. I knew nothing about her, her family, her life. I knew nothing about her or the fairies. There was no reason for me to give up anything to her.

She shrugged, then asked tentatively, "Can I ask how you guys met?"

I pressed my lips together, then smirked slightly. "May I ask how you and Artemis met?"

She glanced up at me, smiled a little, and replied, "Fine. I guess we can't keep you entirely in the dark forever."

I paused, deciding that this was my opportunity to learn more about our allies. I nodded. "It was last December…"

"Only a few months?"

"Yes." This was said a little sharply, so I relaxed and continued. "Myles had been tormenting me so much lately, I couldn't find any peace no matter where I went. I decided I'd take a nice long trip to Forks, Washington, a place he'd never think to look for me. While I was hiding there, I met Anthony and the Cullens, a fairly large family of vampires. For a while, Anthony tried multiple times to drink my blood, but thanks to the intervention of the Cullens, I remained safe. After a time, he became able to resist the urge to kill me, and from then on, we became friends."

"Well," remarked Holly after a few moments. "That's a nice story."

"I told you mine, tell me yours."

She paused a moment, unsure of how or whether to begin, then stated in a low voice, "You know Artemis wasn't always a good guy."

I eyed her, wondering exactly what she meant by this.

She clarified, "When he was eleven years old, his dad disappeared into the arctic and didn't come back. Artemis, as man of the family, took it upon himself to keep the Fowl fortune nice and big, so he could take care of his mother. Well, some of his attempts to raise funds were a bit… how shall I put this?... shady."

"You mean illegal." I hissed. It wasn't a question, but an accusation. I had known that the Fowl family had been associated with numerous crimes, but I hadn't expected Artemis to be so deeply involved at such a young age.

She nodded, then defended her friend, "He was only a little kid, you can't blame him for trying to help out his mom. He was under so much pressure as it was, then she started going insane… Then he found out about the People.

"It was as though his dreams had come true. All he had to do was kidnap a fairy and hold it for ransom in order to get as much gold as he wanted."

My eyes widened as I put the pieces together. "He kidnapped you?"

"Yeah. After he traded me for the gold, I really hated him for a while. But a few months later, we needed his help to take down Opal Koboi, a psychotic little pixie who was trying to take over Haven. After a few similar situations, we became friends."

I blinked. "But he _kidnapped _you."

She shrugged. "All in the past."

I suddenly felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I stiffened, inconspicuously reaching out and grabbing a nearby fork, and just as I turned around, a cold finger was pressed to my lips.

What faced me was a tall, lean young man with a gaunt white face. My eyes flickered across his high cheekbones, his thin feminine lips, his black square-framed glasses, his shock of flame red and pale blonde hair, and, most importantly, his garnet eyes.

"Woah. He wasn't lying when he said she was… like that," murmured the newcomer as he recoiled, drawing away in inquisitive repulsion. Two others appeared at his side.

The first was a massive older male with a distinct square jaw and a milky complexion. He ran his hand over his auburn crew cut and folded his sinewy arms. His eyes glinted deep crimson.

The last draped her delicate, slender arms over the big one, fixing her ruby eyes on me. Her jet black and electric blue-streaked hair fell to her waist in a fine sheet, and she tucked a piece behind her ear. She had a curious expression on her elf-like face.

Holly glanced at me questioningly, while I stepped back into the bar, gripping my fork like I meant to fight my way through them. I knew, however, that that would be impossible.

"Vampires," I hissed.

"She's smart, Tony. I like her."

"She's not for that," snapped Anthony, who had suddenly appeared with Minerva at his side.

"I wouldn't touch her if you told me to. It's like… well, you know."

"How can you possibly stand it?" inquired the black-haired vixen luxuriously.

Anthony shrugged. "I've just gotten used to it, I guess."

I mentally asked him, _Gotten used to what?_

He said nothing, instead gestured to each of my new acquaintances, the one with glasses, the big one, and the girl, introducing them respectively. "Claire, this is Richard Sparks, Nicholas Morgan, and Serena Lynch."

"'Sup?"

"Hey."

"Pleasure."

Anthony continued, "After I left the Cullens, I hung with these guys for a while. They're pretty cool. A little on the wild side, but—."

My friend was interrupted by Richard tackling him and giving him a fierce noogie. "A little? Since when have you understated anything?" he cackled somewhat maniacally. "Woah, woah, woah, what is _this_?" He leaned in and stared at Anthony's eyes. "Ohhh no."

Serena's lips curled into a disgusted expression. "He didn't."

"Oh yes he did. Tony went vegan!"

"About that—,"

"Since when did you start living by the Cullen's rules?"

"See I—,"

"Especially when you have a perfectly good specimen standing quite willingly right next to you," piped Nicholas. "I'm assuming she knows about you?"

Minerva flushed in indignation. "I am most certainly not a specimen!"

Richard was standing before her in less time it took to blink, planting a kiss on her slender hand. "Of course you're not. You do, however, have a most delicate aroma. It's like… how shall I put it?... hoards of wildflowers freshly cut after a light spring rain. Cool, sweet, and refreshing."

"Oh… ah, well, th-thank you then…"

He winked. "Anytime."

Anthony rolled his eyes and nudged his old friend away, glancing in my direction with a sheepish grin.

"What are they talking about? Is there something wrong with me?" I quizzed Anthony in a low voice.

He seemed taken aback, embarrassed, like I had heard something I wasn't supposed to. "N-no, nothing's necessarily _wrong _with you, just—."

"They must have starved you good if you went after her so desperately," Richard yawned, oblivious to my discomfort and confusion.

"What is he… do I smell bad or something??"

"No, actually, you smell pretty good. Like sharp, minty, icebreaker gum. It's just that you're practically cold, and no one wants to take a bite out of something that's almost a vampire anyway."

My eyes widened. I hadn't been aware of this before now.

"I'm… cold?"

" Kinda. It's really weird, like you just died or something. I don't know how else to explain it, I've never seen anything like it…"

I flushed.

_At this I was taken aback. I wondered how he knew what I did on my computer. "Can vampires read minds as well?"_

_"Not all of them. Edward's better at it than I am." His lip twitched at the sound of the name. "I don't know, it's like I hear them sometimes, and sometimes they cut out. We have no idea how it works."_

_"You dislike him," I remarked._

_"Yeah, and I'm disliking you right now too."_

_"Why on earth would you have reason to dislike someone you barely know?"_

_"You're cold. And the way you talk doesn't help."_

_I blinked. "What do you mean, I'm cold? I'm being entirely civil and friendly here, unlike you."_

_He muttered, "You're a lot different from most others. When it was raining, and when you were in the shop, I thought it was something in the air. But you're like this all the time, so it's seriously weird for me."_

Why hadn't I seen this before? Why had I dismissed it so quickly? I felt ridiculous, absurd. I—

"So anyway, what's shaking with you, Tony? Besides collecting human pets."

Anthony shrugged. "Eh, just on the run from a deranged and obsessive fifteen-year-old with a couple of rich geniuses—,"

"Genii," Minerva corrected.

"—genii, all while trying to hunt and make sure I don't kill anybody. You?"

Richard shrugged. "Same old same old. What's this about being on the run from a human? You do remember how to kill, don't you?" He glanced at me with a devious little smirk. "Or do you need reminding?" I shivered.

Anthony's eyes narrowed the slightest. "Just don't make a scene while we're here. We're trying to keep a low profile."

"Don't worry, we never do it in the open. Serena's got a talent for luring the tasty males away." Nicholas let out a resentful huff at that.

I couldn't hear any more. My mind had become riddled with images of the trio, Serena seductively pulling an unsuspecting victim outside, down an alley, only to be joined by Nicholas and Richard. They'd grin to each other, ignoring the confused questions of their prey, their crimson eyes glittering in the streetlight. Then they'd lunge, moving in for the kill…

I crept away to the bar, trying to hold myself together.

oOo

I pressed my lips together as Claire stalked away, unnoticed by all except me and the other vampires.

"Well," said Minerva. "I'm sure you four have quite a bit of catching up to do. I, Holly, and…" she paused as she realized Claire had already left. "We'll leave you all alone." She took Holly by the shoulder and led her away.

The second they were gone, Richard rounded on me, manic curiosity causing his garnet eyes to glitter. "How long are you saving her for? A few weeks? Years? God, she smells pretty." He was referring to Minerva.

"I told you, I don't do humans anymore. I agree with Carlisle."

He blinked, taking a step back and scratching his chin. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "What did they do to brainwash you?"

I scratched the back of my head. "No brainwashing… I just didn't… There was a person involved…"

"The frozen food."

I rolled my eyes. "Knock it off. She doesn't understand what it's like. She's…sensitive."

"Anyone can see that insane glint in her eyes and smell her paranoia," sniffed Nicholas. "Though I must ask why it is you feel so attached to her, if not for her blood."

I glanced back at Claire who was hunched over the bar, scared and alone. The sight of it made my gut lurch.

"I don't know, to be honest," I answered truthfully. I had no idea why I had felt so strongly the need to protect her. "She's like my sister; I have to take care of her."

"That's sweet," Serena said warmly. Odd, she wasn't normally super nice.

I stuck my hands in my pockets and glanced around, mainly at Claire. I felt the need to go over to her, see if she was alright, and was just about to excuse myself when Richard asked with a grin, "You still pro at DDR?"

I grinned back.

…………………………………

**Eh. So boring. Whatever. I'm trying to finish this story so I can post the rest of the chapters more quickly, so sorry if it takes me a bit to update.**


	21. Instincts

**Kind of a short chapter here. Like I said, it's filler, and I think the writing quality took a bit of a dip here, but eh. It'll get better soon.**

**Anyway, here it is.**

………………………………………

After three more drinks Claire felt almost ready to vomit, thus I took this as the signal that it was time to leave.

"Where's Artemis?" she asked Minerva, her words slightly slurred. She swayed on her feet, not at all used to such amounts of alcohol. Minerva, an annoyed expression on her face, dragged over a very silly, very drunk Artemis by the elbow.

"Claire!" he snorted after another fit of giggles. "You look positively _ravishable_ in that skimpy halter top!"

"Ravishable isn't a real word," Claire muttered, gripping the bar for support. _A-Anthony?_

I appeared next to them in an instant, smirking.

"Too much booze?" I asked with a snicker.

She glared up at me. "Get me home."

I snickered again. "Okay, okay."

"Anthony, take her while you can, because if you don't I'll steal her and—"

Holly punched him in the back. "Don't even think about finishing that sentence. Gods, this is the last time I'm ever letting you drink; you're an absolute creep."

"…And then after Claire and I are finished, perhaps you and Minerva could—"

Holly punched him again, this time visibly harder. "Don't _even_." She made a face.

"You pansies," Mulch scoffed, and punctuated his remark with a belch. "Can't take a little bit of alcohol. Pathetic."

"Mulch, I'm going to kill you," Claire said simply.

At that, I simply cackled more. I opened the rental car door and got Claire and Artemis inside, and they were followed by Mulch and Holly. Minerva was about to slide in after them when she winced and drew away from the car.

"What?"

"I forgot my purse. I'll only be a second."

I rolled my eyes, folded my arms, and leaned against the car, not wanting to enter it for fear of what the drunken Artemis might be saying. All around me, happy ravers stumbled over themselves as they got in their cars and taxis. I yawned and stretched my arms skyward, before catching a glimpse of a trio of young men. They grinned at each other, laughing at some joke one had made. I smiled to myself, remembering with a twinge of bittersweet emotion the days when I was human, when I used to laugh like that with people.

Then in a moment, I was alone.

Fate—no—_I _had taken away everything I'd cared about, everyone I'd loved. I'd ruined everything in a moment of sheer stupidity.

…_Woah, she's hot…_

_…Come over here…_

_…What I'd like…_

_…We'd show her…_

My head perked up, looking for the unfortunate young lady who'd caught the attention of the three creeps. My eyes narrowed as I saw one of them grinning stupidly at Minerva. The three guys whispered to each other, laughing at each other's downright nasty jokes and not-so-hidden innuendoes. My fist curled.

One of the guys inched forward, like a crab creeping towards a body of water. Minerva, oblivious to them, lingered at the curb and searched for our car.

"Hey," greeted the creep who'd made his way to the girl. She nodded briefly in acknowledgement and began to step out into the parking lot. He got a hold of her arm.

_I don't think so_, I let the thought ring clear into his head, and I was there in a nanosecond. My arm wrapped itself around the confused Minerva, and I shot a wicked amber glare at the three guys. They all seemed to shrink a few inches.

I steered her to the car, my spine rigid with anger, and almost ripped the door off. Thankfully Holly opened it from the inside before I could break anything and helped Minerva in.

I drove a little too fast that night.

And the second we parked at the hotel, Artemis lost his drinks all over the pavement.

oOo

I leered at the Berlin skyline, still annoyed by those goons who had tried to seduce Minerva. My reaction had startled me, though. I'd never felt so… protective, so territorial; not even with Claire. Not since Lisa.

I pressed my lips together when Minerva padded onto the balcony behind me.

"Hello," she muttered.

"Hey," I replied, trying not to sound mad. I don't think it worked.

"You…I…eh, thank you."

"For what?"

"For rescuing me from whatever that boy was planning."

"Don't mention it."

"To be honest, I feel rather stupid. I—"

"Seriously. Don't mention it."

"Sorry…"

I sighed and turned around. She stood before me, wearing the same outfit she'd worn to the rave, only she'd donned a long pink angora cardigan. She walked silently to my side.

"Hey."

"Hm?"

"You look good tonight. I'm diggin' that hair clip."

She smiled and fingered it self-consciously.

We stared out from the balcony together, leaning against the wall as we gazed upon the Berlin cityscape. My gaze shifted the slightest to Minerva, huddled in her angora cardigan, her face spangled in starlight. My breath slowed.

I stared out at the city again, at the lights, the people, the general nightlife. Somehow, however, I couldn't bring myself to see it as more exciting or interesting as the girl standing next to me.

"Minerva." It was a murmur, a breath on my lips. Her ethereal blue gaze flickered to meet mine.

"Yes?"

I took a slow, measured breath, catching her scent as I did so. She smelled of lilies.

The words caught in my throat. "I…" I choked. I could see the wonder in her eyes, the anticipation of what she knew I would say next. My eyes swept across her face, from her beautiful eyes to her mane of golden hair, to her graceful jaw to… her throat…

"I just want to say that…" The words died again.

It was stupid that I was so caught up. I should just be able to blurt out what I needed to say, just as I did on a regular basis. Somehow though, when I tried to say what I'd felt for ages it seemed, I couldn't.

I tried a different form of communication by extending a hand. Without looking away for an instant, she reached up and clasped my own larger hand in her two small. Lilies…

She slowly brought my hand to her face, holding it tenderly to her cheek.

_Lub-dub. Lub-dub._

She was silent, patiently waiting for me to get my head straight. I stepped closer. I leaned in. Our faces were just inches apart.

Her eyes said endless possibility, boundless dreams. Her pulse said, _I'm curious to see how far this goes, too_.

_Lubdub. Lubdub. Lubdub._

With my other hand I began at her forehead, tracing a line with the caress of my fingertips to her right cheek, then down her jaw to her chin, down her chin and along her neck, stopping with my index finger between her collar bones.

_Lubdublubdublubdub._

_I can't do this…_ said a quiet and disdainful voice in the back of my mind. I was too far gone, we both knew that.

I leaned in as though I were about to kiss her, and I probably was. Her cheek brushed mine as I held her. That's when she knew what was happening, what was about to go down. She didn't even struggle as my instincts took over, as I lost every shred of control, as I dipped my head and bit her.

With my lips pressed against her left collar bone, I drank. Her eyes fluttered, and her lips drew back in a wince as she felt her blood being sucked from her body. It was beautiful, the taste of her sweet, metallic blood. I cradled her, holding her as she became weaker and weaker. Her knees buckled until she finally collapsed in my arms.

My eyes grew huge as I drew away and realized what I'd done. Her pale, limp form hung lifelessly in my arms.

My stomach turned to ice as I fell to my knees and gingerly set her on the ground. Minerva's pulse was slow—too slow—and her face had turned pale and sallow.

"C-Claire…" I called with a trembling voice. "CLAIRE!!"

………………………………

**And there's chapter 21. Enjoy the cliffhanger ^_^**


	22. Sacrifice and Confusion

**Just a short chapter for now. Enjoy.**

"CLAIRE!!"

The sound of Anthony's scream was so panicked and forceful that it made the rest of us jump. Artemis was the first up, followed by me, Holly, and Mulch. Artemis sprinted down the hall to the balcony. The moment I got there I saw the Irish teen with his head in his hands.

I paled as I realized what happened.

Holly murmured in confusion, "But I didn't hear a gunshot…?"

"It wasn't a gunshot," was Artemis' cold reply. He'd become completely sober after arriving at the hotel; I guessed it was more of his magical healing abilities. He stalked to the felled Minerva, knelt, and tilted her head to one side, revealing the twin dots of crimson just above her collarbone.

The elf said nothing, but her eyes widened slightly in understanding.

Anthony was so quiet, so still as he clutched her hand…. He got up and gripped his head in his hands, anguished at his lack of control. "Oh my God…" he whispered tightly.

"Is there a way we can help her?" I asked, taking attention away from my friend.

"There may be. Holly?"

"She'd be fine if she had more blood, but her blood type's really rare…"

"What is it?" I asked without hesitation.

"A-?"

My eyes widened. It was like some kind of sign, like our meeting hadn't been entirely chance. "That's my type," I murmured. I could feel Anthony's eyes flicker to my direction.

"Are you certain?" asked Artemis austerely. "If you're mistaken, and you give her the wrong type of blood..."

"I used to give…him…blood. After surgeries. I'm sure." A knot wound its way into my chest, but I ignored it. I had to save Minerva, for Anthony's sake. Holly said something and rushed back inside. I stared down at the pallid, frail girl who lay sprawled on the balcony, unconscious. I knew somehow I'd been replaced by this girl, this exotic, foreign, highly intelligent, beautiful girl. The knot became a solid rock as Holly returned, carrying a sort of medical pack, possibly something she'd salvaged from her and Mulch's mysterious destination. She opened it up and pulled out a thin tube and needle. An IV. I rolled up the sleeve of my brother's shirt and bared the underside of my forearm. I looked away.

A prick of pain, then in the corner of my eye, I saw dull red liquid ooze its way to the needle in Minerva's arm. I swallowed, and my hands began to tremble at the sight of blood; I'd never been very good with giving it, even though I'd done it at least a dozen times.

"You okay, kid?" Holly asked after a tense minute or so, concern in her eyes.

"Y-yes," I said slowly, waves of heat flushing through me. I hadn't thought before I'd volunteered myself to help Minerva. Of course, I'd been left with no other option; I couldn't simply let her die. But I'd forgotten how squeamish I got with blood. Plus I was a little drunk…

I froze.

"What about the alcohol in my blood? Won't it make matters worse?"

"We can fix that; just sit still and try to stay calm. Anyone who's not needed should go, and maybe we should move them to a slightly warmer location…"

Anthony had left, too overwhelmed by guilt to stay, I suppose. Mulch, seeing that things were most likely going to be fine, returned to his room.

Minerva, Holly, Artemis, and myself were left. Artemis scowled and scooped up Minerva. I rose and followed suit, so that the tube wouldn't become disconnected from one of us. I swallowed at the unnerving sensation of my arm flexing around the needle.

Artemis set the girl down on the bed, and I sat beside her. I noticed the Irish teen as he glanced at me and picked up Jessie.

"So, a hairless cat?"

I blinked, feeling a wave of cool air wash over me. "It was a birthday present." I hesitated before adding, "For my brother when he was in the hospital."

"Tell me about her."

oOo

When I got back, she was sleeping soundly. A sigh of relief poured from between my lips as I looked down at her. I turned my head slightly and saw Claire lying on her back, an arm extended in Minerva's direction. I noticed the dot on her arm and smelled the blood. Guilt flushed through me. I'd left them both because of my own shame at my lack of self control.

The creak of the door announced Artemis' presence. I looked up.

"You left it unlocked?"

"To periodically check on them through the night," was his stoic reply. I could almost smell his exhaustion.

I narrowed my eyes. "You had access to a girls' room all night?" I said, my voice dripping with suspicion.

He met my garnet gaze with his own sapphire/coffee eyes, unafraid. "It's not as though you were here."

"Was Claire okay?"

Artemis was quiet for a long handful of seconds. "The mere fact," he muttered, "That you need to ask should tell you that you have things to work on."

"What, did you want me to stay here and risk having you guys shoot me or something??"

"You have a tendency to run when things don't go your way," he said in a low voice as he messed around with some nearby medical equipment. A healthy, rhythmic beep sounded every few seconds from the case they'd set on the nightstand next to Minerva.

"Will she be okay?"

"It seems like it. I have to ask you, though, while I was using my magic to filter toxins from her blood, I came across a strange substance." My fingers came involuntarily to my biting teeth.

"Vampire venom. It's what turns humans into vampires. Some must have gotten in when I pulled out of her neck." I stared at her limp body, feeling helpless and… dangerous.

Artemis frowned and said dryly, "Full of surprises, aren't we?"

I scratched the back of my head sheepishly.

"So did she stabilize after Claire gave her blood? Did she wake up at all?"

"No, she's been asleep, but she is definitely stable. Curious, that you have no concern for Claire, whom you've claimed to love like a sister."

I flushed in embarrassment, then a wave of anger shot through my body. "Are you serious? Minerva almost _died_."

"Very true, though you showed only concern for Minerva, when Claire so courageously gave her own blood to save her. The least you could do is _think _about her."

"Don't tell me how to feel!"

The Irish teen flexed his jaw and shot a sideways glare at me. "The fact of the matter is you abandoned her, Anthony, and she is losing the only person she trusts in this world to a snobby, rich, beautiful European girl who has done nothing for you, and yet has somehow captured all your attention."

I blinked.

His words sunk in a bit, taking their time as they mulled and stewed. A boiling sensation welled up in my core, like a kettle on a stove. "I…I don't… _you're just pissed because you lost Minerva to me!_"

Artemis stared at me incredulously. I hadn't actually meant to say it; it had just slipped out. I didn't want him making me feel bad for becoming attached to Minerva, though. There was no way I could let him dictate to me how to think and feel just because he was the great _Artemis Fowl_.

"Well." It was a simple word, but loathing gushed out from the sides. "So this is how you think of me? Artemis Fowl, greatest criminal mastermind in Europe, one of the youngest, richest businessmen in the world, has lost his girl to a cocky American vampire? Do you honestly think I'm _jealous_ of you or her? Do you really believe I _care _who she chooses to spend her time with? I have had four relationships since her in the last two years; I've long since moved on from her arrogant, immature, selfish attitude. The only thing that concerns me is the mental stability of Miss Claire Davenport, who lost her mother as an infant, had to deal with a pair of oblivious parents and their psychotic offspring, then had to watch as her best friend, perhaps her only friend, died a slow and painful death, leaving her at the mercy of said offspring. She has had no allies in this war against her stepbrother except you, who for some reason she felt resembled her dear older brother. You, Master Rose, are the most egocentric, self-absorbed creature I've ever seen, and I sincerely hope you rethink your priorities before you make a lasting mistake."

"Why do you _care _so much about her??"

"I only care for her in the same manner as a doctor feels attached to a patient. However, I feel the need to help her, not only with Myles, but with herself. You may not realize this, but she's a highly dependent person, and she needs you."

I pressed my lips together. I didn't need this. I was just seeing if Minerva was okay, since, last I checked, Claire was perfectly fine. A little buzzed, but in a better state than Minerva.

"…_Ce qui est arrivé à moi_…?"

Artemis glanced down at the girl, who was stirring before him.

"_Vous avez été mordu par Anthony et avez perdu une grande quantité de sang. Claire, cependant, t'a donné certaines de ses propres, et le houx et moi avions l'habitude notre magie pour vous stabiliser_," he explained in flawless French.

She turned her head to see Claire, who lay sleeping beside her. "_Merci_." She then yawned, rubbed her forehead, and sat up. Her delicate fingertips met the twin dots above her collarbone, which hadn't completely healed. Maybe there were some things magic couldn't quite fix. She silently looked around and noticed her hair clip, the same one she'd worn to the rave, lying on her pillow. She pinned her hair back, out of her face.

Her pale blue eyes rested on me. I swallowed.

She looked down at her lap.

Thus began the long, awkward week before it all went bad.

**I'll try to get another one up soon.**


	23. It's All Downhill From Here

**This is the beginning of the end, folks.**

**Well, just about.**

**This is where the real drama and psyche torture starts. Fun stuff like that. I won't give out any unnecessary details though.**

**Anyway, the chapter.**

………………………………………**...**

Everyone was uncomfortable around Anthony.

I had woken up later that day and received profuse thanks from Minerva. I could only smile and accept them politely, though I couldn't help but feel I had failed since she had chosen to disregard Anthony from here on out. Anthony himself would disappear for long periods of time and ignore everyone, not that anyone complained; He'd committed an act that was too terrible for immediate forgiveness.

I often went looking for him, hoping to console him in some way, but I never found him. So I kept to myself, checking my finances and following newsfeed of my brother, who would update the public on the progress of him and his 'search team', who were restlessly hunting for me.

I wondered why they hadn't found us yet. It had been almost a month since we'd arrived in Berlin. Artemis still couldn't get support from the fairies' 'Sector 8', and we had no idea if Myles was still in France. We were blind and deaf to his plans, weak, outnumbered, and in hiding from the world. Things were looking bleaker and bleaker as we came to realize that we wouldn't be able to keep this up anymore, that we would eventually have to either locate Myles and fight him, or give ourselves up.

I was afraid.

I found myself leaving the hotel more and more, lingering in coffee shops and small businesses. My world became as large as downtown Berlin, and I began to feel stifled, like an invisible box was enveloping me as I meandered through the streets.

One day, I was surprised by Artemis when he accompanied me on one of my excursions.

We walked in a tense silence. There was nothing to say, at least I believed so. However, he surprised me again by saying in his attempt at a light tone, "What amiable weather Berlin has, wouldn't you say so?"

I nodded, staring at the ground. In truth, I thought it was too hot, and the thick air threatened to choke me as I strolled through the streets. Sweat began to collect on my back and neck. The sun was burning a few magnitudes to brightly, or so it felt. It got to a point where it felt like I was swimming through the air, like it was almost as dense as I was.

Artemis glanced over at me, his hands in his pockets, and released a sigh. "I'm sorry he's abandoned you."

It felt as though he'd electrocuted me. I swallowed and composed myself before muttering, "I know what you're doing."

"I'm aware of that."

"Then why do it? Why assume I'm barking mad and try to reason with me like you're… like you're some kind of _shrink_?"

He shrugged slightly. "If you don't talk to me, then who will you talk to?"

"I don't need to talk," I grumbled uncharacteristically.

"Hm. You're a seventeen-year-old millionaire genius who is on the run from her sociopathic fifteen-year-old half brother and has had to deal with the death of her brother while her only friend has decided to ignore her for some snobby French aristocrat. Call me crazy, but I think you may have some things you'd like to sort out."

I pressed my lips together, annoyed, but his words clung to me.

_The world was stifling. The room was dark. There was nothing stopping him from coming after me, nothing to keep him at bay. I was alone. Completely and utterly alone._

_"You thought you could run away from me!"_

_"I… I just needed—"_

_"Listen, you. If you _ever _try to hide from me again, I _will _hunt you down. Now get your things together and move it. We're going home._

_"Just give me another week…" My plea was cut short by him grabbing the collar of my shirt and throwing me aside._

_"If you don't cooperate…" He halted as a gentle hiss was heard from the corner of the room. Jessie stood, her back arched, her ears flat, baring her little teeth viciously. Myles glared at the little hairless cat before breaking into a menacing grin. He stomped over to her, ignoring my screams to stop, and picked her up by the scruff. She hissed in his face. Pitiful, really, that my brother's cat should put up more of a fight than I did._

_Myles hurled her across the room, silencing her._

_My eyes widened at her struggling body as Myles kicked her aside, snickering at her pathetic attempts to escape. Panic rose in my chest. If he killed Jessie, then there would be nothing left of my brother. My memories of him would slowly wither and fade into nothingness, and he'd simply be a name. If Jessie died, Joseph would die again._

_I couldn't allow that to happen._

_Adrenaline pumping, I threw myself at Myles, screeching inhumanly as my arm closed around his neck. He writhed and easily rolled on top of me, ramming his fist into my stomach. Bile rose in my throat, but I ignored it just long enough to throw my knee into his pelvis. He snarled in pain and closed his hands around my neck. The air seemed to fizzle out of existence, leaving me in a vacuum. The darkness of the room, the heat of his torment…_

_The shatter of a window being thrown open. Myles' hands released me, and he was removed from my side. I heard the sound of something hitting the wall hard._

_"What in God's name are you?!"_

_"You listen to me, punk: you don't need to know anything about me except that if you hurt Claire ever again, I will make your life very, very miserable. Now go. Or so help me, I won't wait for you and I'll just rip your face off and feed it to you now."_

_My eyes regained focus, and I caught sight of Anthony Rose holding Myles to the wall by the collar of his shirt. All I could care about was Jessie, who lay trembling on the floor._

Please don't die, please don't die…

_Her skinny, naked body was so frail, so hurt. She was so small, too. Like a doll or a child. Inescapable fear caused my body to tremble. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't—_

_"Hey," he murmured. I looked up at him helplessly._

_"We have to save her… we have to…"_

_"It's okay."_

_Somehow, staring up into his serene amber eyes, I believed him._

_"Come on," he continued, "I know where we might be able to get help. Can she be moved?"_

What had happened?

What had happened to the sarcastic, comical vampire who had once been able to bring comfort in any situation? What had happened to his promises of protection and consolation?

What had happened to this boy who would fill in for the brother I had lost?

The air was thick again, a burning sensation filling up my throat and sinuses. How loathsome was I that everyone left me? What was wrong with me? I was aware that I was a little insane, but he'd never left me. Never. He had even moved from Forks so he could be closer to me. I needed him so much, loved him so much. How could he just forget about me when he was my whole world?

I swaggered a bit to a nearby bench and fell into it, shaking violently. Artemis stood nearby uncertainly, though he might as well have not existed. All I knew was that I was alone again, and the fact tore at my insides.

I gripped the sides of my head in anguish. It was wrong. It was all wrong. Anthony and I were supposed to be the best of friends forever, seeing the world, exploring everything worth exploring. Who would be with me now, now that Anthony had chosen someone else, now that Joseph was dead?

My lips trembled around the words, "Joseph is dead."

"Y-yes."

"He's _dead_!" Tears spilled over onto my cheeks, leaving icy trails in their wake. "He's dead! He's dead and he's never coming back!" My breath was ragged from the pain that was blossoming in my chest. "How could you leave me??" I sobbed, "How could you tell me you loved me then go and die? Huh?! How do you justify abandoning me to Myles?!?" I hugged myself, oblivious to the passerby who stared concernedly down at me, while Artemis could only look apologetically at them. "I HATE YOU!!" I shrieked suddenly. "JOSEPH, I HATE YOU!"

"Claire, calm down!" Artemis hissed.

I raised my burning eyes to his face and spat, "He's dead, Artemis. Forever. And no one knows how it _feels _to be abandoned by everyone, especially the person you love most!"

"I know he's dead, Claire," he said in a low voice. "I understand that you—"

"NO YOU DON'T!"

"Fine! I don't then! However, I do know you're suffering, and that it hurts more than anything ever will for you. But you have to move on at some point. I don't mean to sound heartless, but you have to let go sometime."

My lips quivered again. "But I loved him, more than anyone in the world. I'd give the world just to be with him. He was the only one who made me feel safe, like I was a person who deserved to live. But he's gone, and the only person who could possibly take his place left me too." I began to hyperventilate, spots swirling across my vision. Hysteria was taking its hold on me. "Why does everyone hate me so much, Artemis?"

"Claire." The word was soft, tentative. "The only person in this world who hates you is Myles, and the only reason he hates you is because he's unstable. You have so much to offer, if only you'd stop focusing on the faults you believe people find in you."

The tears had finally stopped. I flushed in embarrassment at my childish display, dabbing at my eyes with the sleeve of Joseph's dark grey shirt. I glanced up at the sky, observing the tinges of ginger and crimson that crept into the horizon. Everything felt so wrong now. Not only because of Joseph's death, but Anthony's interest in Minerva, and the fact that we still hadn't been found…

It was at that moment that I had a small epiphany.

Myles hadn't found us in Berlin, even though he'd had no trouble hunting me down in London and Paris. It had been a month since Minerva had gone missing, but she hadn't explained exactly what had happened to her when she had been captured by Myles. For all we knew, he could've used her father as a bargaining tool… I was startled at how much sense it made. Myles could have told her to wait, regain our trust completely, then set off some kind of tracker when the time was right. I let out a breath. She couldn't possibly have a tracker, someone would've found it. Unless it was something on her person, something disguised so perfectly it couldn't be mistaken for anything. Why hadn't she set it off then? We all trusted her enough to drag her to the rave…

But then she'd been bitten, so perhaps she gotten scared, or couldn't find another opportunity to set it off. I swallowed. I wanted these puzzle pieces to stop making sense, to stop forming such plausible scenarios and images, but I couldn't stop, no matter how desperately I wanted to be wrong.

"Artemis," I hissed, a feeling of impending danger coming over me, "Call Holly, Mulch, and Richard; we have to find Anthony."

oOo

I was determined.

She'd completely ignored me for weeks, I hadn't been able to tap into her mind, and I'd had it. Somehow I was going to _prove _my love for her.

"Minnie!" I said urgently into the cell phone. I was by the edge of a thick forest. A private place. "Something's up. Who else is there?"

"N-no one, it's only me. Why? Where are you?"

"There's something you need to see. Get a fix on my location and hurry."

I leaned against a tree for all of five minutes before she came crashing through the forest in our rented green SUV. She jumped out, gripping one of those tiny fairy laser guns. Minerva did a quick survey of our surroundings before glaring down at me with those startling blue eyes. She'd been duped.

Minerva made for the car, but halted abruptly when I called her name. "Minerva, please!"

She turned around.

"I… I'm sorry. I don't know… I swear, I've changed!" She was staring. I didn't know how to make her stay; I hadn't really thought this through. I walked, human pace, towards her frozen self. She stepped away from the car, watching me as I approached her cautiously.

_I fuzzily rolled into the world of consciousness. I was on a bed. I couldn't sense heat or cold, light or dark, but I knew I _was_, and that fact kind of startled me. It began with a few scratching motions with my fingers, with brought sensation back into my hands and arms. I then moved my legs and focused on my breathing, feeling the world come silently crashing into existence around me._

_I opened my eyes._

_"Where am I?" I grunted almost unintelligibly. No answer. "Hello?"_

_"Glad to see you're feeling better," said Alice, one of the Cullen kids._

_"What did you do to me?"_

_She swallowed as though she'd been selected for the unlucky job of being the bearer of bad news._

_"How am I still alive?" I demanded. "What did you do?"_

_She held up her hands. "Edward brought this on you, don't blame me."_

_"WHAT?"_

_She closed her eyes a minute and sighed. "My family and I are—"_

_"Don't tell me."_

_"—vampires..."_

_I rolled my eyes and gouged my forehead with my palms. "You guys are freaks. I need to find…"_

Lisa.

_The name rammed me in the face like a sledgehammer. The waterworks started up, while Alice watched me with an uncomfortable expression._

_"LISA!" I howled, rolling onto my side in agony._

_"Get a hold of yourself," said a new voice. Alice had been replaced by Edward._

_"What did you do to me?" I whimpered._

_In less time than it took to blink, he had walked up and held a mirror in front of my face. "Carlisle bit you, releasing a controlled amount of venom into your bloodstream. After a few days of intense screaming and agony, you became what you are now."_

_"What?"_

_"You're one of us. A vampire."_

_I stared at the face looking back at me. I stared at his more prominent cheekbones, his soft, sheet-white skin. I stared at his glistening golden hair that fell just over one garnet-colored eye. I swallowed bile as I became sickeningly aware of my world: the air was about 68 degrees, the extremely soft voices of three people were coming from upstairs, Cullen had no pulse—_

_I froze._

_Edward didn't have a pulse._

_I snatched up the mirror and hurled it across the room, lodging it in the wall. I scowled and glared up at Edward._

_"I hate you."_

_"I know you do. And to be honest, I hate you too."_

I wasn't worth anything. I should be dead. Yet here I was, trying to beg the one person I deserved the least for forgiveness.

She scratched her head and stared at me.

_Deet! Deet! Deet!_

My brow furrowed as the tiny noise, too high a frequency for human ears, tickled the back of my head, like a gnat that's too small to mind yet impossible to ignore. I did ignore it though, and swallowed as she took a slow step towards me, then another, then found her way into my arms. I sighed, wrapping my arms around her, collecting her, holding her.

_Deet! Deet! Deet!_

Her tiny body radiated sweet warmth. I melted. My fingertips skittered up her side till they reached her jaw. Her body shifted, only to adjust her skirt for a moment, or so I thought, and I pulled her face toward mine. I hesitated at the mirthless look on her face, confused.

Then a pinprick of pain in my lower back.

Everything went dark.

……………………………………….

**Not the best writing, but it tells the story. I hope more people start reviewing and let me know how they feel about how this is going to end… *hinthint***


	24. Anthony's Capture and Claire's Defeat

**To celebrate the end of TPOL's and therefore the last technical day of school, I thought I'd post a chapter.**

…………………………………

So much has happened in the last twelve chapters that I thought it would be a good idea to recap.

So we were in London for all of maybe two days when Myles showed up and tried to kill us again. We fled from there and instead of going to Germany like Artemis suggested, Minerva got her way and led us to her home in France. While checking up on her father, she was captured due to my carelessness, and for a full 24 hours we didn't see her. We assumed the worst.

Minerva promptly returned to us, allowing us to relocate again to Berlin.

For several weeks we stayed there, trying to lie low while coming up with a plan to take Myles down. We could not, so in an effort to boost morale I dragged everyone along to a good old-fashioned European rave. Unfortunately, immediately following afterward I made the mistake of getting too close to Minerva, and as a result I bit, taking out a lot of vital blood. In my horror I ran off, leaving Artemis, Holly, Claire, and Mulch to deal with Minerva's frail condition. Claire, being the resourceful and generous girl she is, determined that she had the same blood type as Minerva, and offered to give up her own blood even though transfusions tended to make her ill. Artemis was the one to help her through it, and he made sure to berate me for it.

Everyone avoided me for a while after that, and I could tell that Minerva didn't want anything to do with me anymore, so in an attempt to win her affection back I led her to a secluded place in order to talk to her. She would have none of it, and next thing I knew, I'd embraced her and everything had gone black.

oOo

"Jeez… How much did you say was in that syringe?"

"Enough serum to kill about four mature elephants," I muttered darkly. I stared coldly at the twitching form of Anthony Rose on the forest floor. "I suggest you contain him quickly; that won't last very long."

Myles gestured for his men, who had arrived mere minutes after the incident, to grab the unconscious vampire and collect him in a tight case of solid titanium. I gave the pale boy a last mournful look before he was contained.

"Now all we do is wait for the others to come to his aid," I muttered, scanning the tree line as though expecting them to come jumping out any minute.

"How long do you think that'll take?"

"Several minutes. See, Holly and Mulch returned shortly after I left and, seeing I was gone and headed for a potentially dangerous location, would have called Claire and Artemis to come find me. They're on their way, and you shall soon have Claire."

The devious American teen grinned. I internally rolled my eyes, hoping this would be over soon.

A scream of pain announced the presence of our adversaries.

"I suggest you get your men organized before they're all killed," I muttered coolly to the shocked Myles. He scowled as he whipped out his walkie.

"Team Red, take the left flank. Team Blue, take the right. Green Team, hold the back and make sure no one gets out, especially my sister. Gold Team, you know what to do."

A chorus of 'yessir's rang from the device as he stuffed it into his pocket again and folded his arms.

I leaned against the container that held my vampire specimen, awaiting the end of this foolishness.

oOo

"Are you sure you know what you're doing??" I gasped from Richard's back. I looked over to see Artemis on Serena's, and Nicholas carrying Holly and Mulch under each arm.

"Woahwoahwoah, they got guns!" Richard yelped, skidding to a halt just before he ran right into a military-looking figure. The man took a step back in shock, not quite sure how to react to a young man too fast for human eyes running straight toward him. The soldier recognized me, though, and raised his gun.

Richard spun out of the way and threw his leg into the man's hip, causing the human to buckle to the ground, shrieking in pain. I paled. The vampire plowed through another three guards, sprinting towards a clearing. I looked back to see Serena and Nicholas close behind.

We burst into the clearing, military-style jeeps and soldiers surrounding us instantaneously. My grip around Richard's shoulders tightened as he scanned the area.

"Try to hurt as few people as possible; we have to find—"

"Would you happen to be looking for Anthony?"

Richard halted at the sound of Minerva's voice. I stared at her as she stood simply in the clearing, leaning against a solid metal containment unit. My heart sank and my stomach turned to ice as my feet touched the ground.

"Minerva…" I murmured.

"Yes. Minerva." She looked past me and smirked. "Well that was simple. Three vampires herded by a small bunch of humans? Pathetic." She flipped out a pair of sleek sunglasses as I heard Serena come crashing in beside us. Artemis leaped from her back and glared at his friend.

"_Minerva_," he growled rather uncharacteristically. The French genius tapped the lens of her glasses smugly. I guessed that Artemis' _mesmer_ technique would have no effect.

I glanced around. "Wondering how I got all of Myles' men here?" she inquired.

My eyes ran across her person, wondering where the tracker could be. My icy gaze met hers. "The hairclip," I murmured.

Her smile widened. "Well done! Yes, Myles provided me with a means of giving out my location so that he could relax in Paris, gathering his troops together so he'd be ready to spring at any given moment. All I had to do was wait for you to be lulled into a false sense of security. Oh, and in case you're wondering, Anthony didn't betray you; he had no way of knowing, since the clip was designed to interfere with any outgoing brain activity. All that time he couldn't read my mind." She laughed darkly. "All the technology for the little gizmo was taken from the helmet Holly left at your manor. Myles has some very smart people on his side drooling over that piece of technology, which is about to make almost all other devices obsolete."

"What do you think you're doing?!" barked Mulch. "In case you haven't noticed, Myles Davenport has tried to kill us all at some point or another in the last month! Or did you need reminding?"

"Oh no, I'm quite aware of that. Rest assured, he is our common enemy." She glanced at her fingernails nonchalantly, while all I could focus on was the solid metal box that most likely held Anthony. Hope was lost to me. We were all going to die here…No, we were already dead.

And I was already Myles' prisoner.

"What could he possibly have offered you?" Holly demanded.

Minerva's gaze flicked to her.

"He had quite a bit to offer me. Did you know, for instance, that he has both mine and Artemis' families held hostage in Paris? That he has threatened to destroy my home and research? That he could very easily continue chasing us around the world until we give in?" She smiled. "Of course, while all this is very pressing, his most tempting offer was to restore my dignity by giving me a Nobel Peace Prize."

"You were researching vampires all that time…" Artemis muttered.

"…And after meeting and observing Anthony, I had all I needed to know about him and his kind. It was the perfect setup, really. I turn in the freak—" she nodded in my direction, "—And I get the Nobel Prize you took away five years ago."

"She saved your life!"

"You took it away! She is but a mere pawn in this game we've played! You never could accept that I was just as smart as you, just as _perfect_. I tried so hard for that prize, I really did. Weeks, no, _months_ of dogged research, and just as I had my fist closed around a demon specimen, you stole him right from beneath me! Not this time, Artemis. You may have stolen my demon, you may have even stolen my heart once, but I won't allow you to take away my Nobel Prize or my family!"

Artemis snorted. "Don't be absurd, Minerva, I've always known we were equals. Stop this now before it gets out of hand and we may be able to fix this."

"It's a little late for that, Fowl," said Myles gleefully. Panic blossomed in my chest. My breath came in unhealthy bursts. This had to be a nightmare. "Minerva's been a good girl," I caught Minerva's scowl before she could compose herself, "So I'm letting her have her daddy, brother, and vampire while I get Claire." His dark brown eyes fell upon me; I nearly crumpled under his wolfish grin. "Hope you don't mind asylums, Claire, 'cause that's where you're headed real soon."

Trembling, I looked over at Richard, who cast a devious smile in my direction. The same smile Anthony always gave me when he was about to do something utterly insane. I tensed.

Wasting no time, he rammed his fist into the window of a nearby jeep, thrusting his hand through the shattered glass and flinging the driver out by his throat. Cackling maniacally, he jumped inside and proceeded to mow down everything in sight. Holly began throwing some kind of sonic grenades into a throng of soldiers, while Mulch tunneled into the ground.

_BOOM!_ A planted grenade burst through the ground in an explosion of fire and dirt. I jumped away and broke into a mindless sprint. _Anthony help me! _I mentally screamed, unable to speak as I was already running out of breath from my panic.

Cold chocolate eyes glared at me from across the chaos. I came to a dead halt, meeting his hateful gaze with my own frosty leer. We were silent, and completely and utterly still.

We remained so for what seemed like an eternity, though it could've only been a few seconds, and in that time I was swept up by a wave of resolution.

I knelt and picked up a broken triangle of glass, gripping it in my fist harshly, ignoring the pain that seared the tender skin of my palm and the hot blood that rose to the surface. There was but one thing in my mind and that was murder.

He'd destroyed my life.

He'd destroyed the lives of the people who tried to help me.

He'd taken Anthony away from me.

No longer was Myles Roy Davenport going to get away with his hateful, destructive temperament. This was where I would end it, here and now. Enough of this ludicrousness, it was time for him to pay.

A trickle of blood oozed down my hand and ran down the shard of glass, but I ignored it. I broke into a run at my stepbrother, an air of both vengeance and finality filling me. Myles remained perfectly still until the last minute, which should have been a warning, but I ignored all the signs of a trap and dove in for an attack.

I had no time to move before he drew his pistol and fired.

Before now, I hadn't known that it was possible to feel enough pain to want to vomit. But it was very possible, and I howled in agony as I collapsed to the forest floor. _Anthony!!_ Blood now poured liberally from both my hand and the fresh wound in my bicep, while I curled up from the burning, searing agony. Myles cackled at my stupidity, causing my grip to tighten around the shard.

He stopped when the already-bloodied glass disappeared into his foot.

He let out a scream of pain, swinging his free foot into my jaw. I rolled over and began to crawl away, trying to get somewhere safe, even though I knew it was pointless. I was as good as captured.

A sinister _crack_ sounded from somewhere, and I let out a last yelp before craning my neck to neck to see the tranquilizer dart that had lodged itself in my thigh. My lips trembled as I fell limply to the forest floor. I held my wounded arm to myself, whimpering pathetically. Immeasurable dread had now taken up its home in the pit of my stomach, where it lay churning and broiling beneath everything else.

My eyelids fluttered. _Hold on…_I mentally pleaded with myself.

I'd given up on Anthony.

He was captured, possibly dead, and he wouldn't or couldn't answer me. There was a void now, a solid gap of empty space in my existence where he should be. I was at last completely alone, and this was it, the end of the road. This was the point where Anthony would never save me again.

The battle faded out of existence, my mind succumbing to the effect of the serum. It was over.

We had lost.

………………………………….

**Hopefully I'll be able to post more chapters now that school's over. Reviews are much appreciated ^.^**


	25. Ask For Edward

**Okay, so I had a brief hiccup with the plot here, followed by a slight bout of writer's block, but it's all good now. ^.^ Anyway, just thought I'd post a quick chapter. Things'll be going more smoothly as we near the end.**

…………………………**.**

"LET'S MOVE IT!" Myles shouted, limping towards the nearest helicopter. One of his men scooped up the lifeless form that was Claire Davenport. Others attached massive hooks to Anthony's containment unit and two helicopters. I looked around frantically for the vampires, but they were busy protecting the others and getting them to safety.

"Wait! We have to—" I stopped as Serena grabbed me around the waist and ran into the cover of the trees.

"It's over, Artemis. You'll all be killed," she hissed as she sprinted.

"But Claire and Anthony…"

"We have no other option." She paused and glanced up at the menacing sound of the helicopters taking off. "We have to get back to safety. We'll bring you to our place. Richard?"

"Yeah," growled the vampire as he fell in step beside us. He cradled an injured and sparking Holly in his arms. I swallowed.

"We have to bring them home and figure out what to do."

"What _can _we do?" chimed Nicholas, who had Mulch in one arm. The choppers resounded above the canopy of the trees.

"It's not safe to talk here," Serena muttered, avoiding the question. "Hurry."

oOo

We crashed into the dim, cluttered studio apartment that belonged to the trio of vampires. I collapsed on the nearest dingy futon, my knees weak from the day's battle. Holly had finished healing, and tiredly curled up next to me. I dropped my head in my hands.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," I muttered, rubbing my forehead. Not only had Claire been captured, but Anthony too.

_And Minerva_, I realized with a long exhalation, _She betrayed us_.

I'd long suspected that there would be repercussions for stealing No1, and I knew that Minerva would never truly forgive me. It was understandable; I had taken away her life's dream and nearly gotten her family killed after all. However, I couldn't help but feel personally hurt by her betrayal.

I had also trusted Anthony to tell us if my fears had any ground or not; I hadn't anticipated that Myles possessed the technology necessary to block the vampire's powers.

"We need the fairies," I stated, leaning back, steepling my fingers. That wasn't all we needed, though. We needed a plan.

Holly sighed. "We can't. Foaly can't risk having the Council shut down Section 8."

"How could we convince them that this has potential to be a global issue?"

"Just how is this global if it's between Claire and Myles?" snorted Mulch from his spot in a beanbag chair.

"We," I began, staring off into space, "Are in a great predicament here. Not only is my family at a severe risk, but Anthony and Claire have been taken. Myles has completed his goal, so he'll be impossible to bargain with. Same with Minerva, who will most likely expose Anthony and the entire vampire race very shortly unless we do something. Not to mention he has a hold of fairy technology, which could lead him to Haven—" I felt Holly shudder beside me, "—And inevitably lead to the exposure of the fairy race as well." I took a breath. "If we ignore this and do nothing, we will lose _everything._"

"What can we do?" asked Holly. "We have to save Claire and Anthony and mindwipe Myles."

"But we don't have approval from the Council. Without that, we're powerless; our only resources are a handful of fairy gadgets, a dwarf, an elf, and three vampires…"

"We can't," Serena said before I had finished.

"Why not? Didn't you hear him? We need you!" Mulch said indignantly.

"We could be in trouble as it is," Nicholas sighed. "The Volturi don't appreciate us exposing ourselves to humans. Even for the sake of saving one of ours. They'd rather we killed Anthony before he can give up any of our secrets."

"Volturi?" I quizzed.

"It's not important," Nicholas continued firmly. "But we can't help you any more than we already have. It's too risky."

I glanced at Richard, who stared at the ground with his arms folded. I pressed my lips together, struggling to hide my frustration. "Very well. Seeing as our chances have gotten even slimmer…"

"We can't help you," Richard reaffirmed, his crimson eyes glinting unnaturally in the dimness of the room, "But I know some people who can and will."

"Who?" I pressed.

He shook his head gently. "Later. How do you plan on getting fairy support?"

I scratched my chin as I twisted the ring on my finger. He picked up after two rings.

"What's our status?" I asked Foaly.

"I terminated the helmet four hours ago. All that's left is a puddle of acid and some weeping scientists."

I ground my teeth. "We needed that."

"It wasn't up to me. Vinyaya ordered it be done so no technology could be taken from it."

"Too late," I said grimly. "Myles used it to create a hairclip that enabled the wearer to hide her thoughts and be used as a tracker."

"A hairclip?"

I swallowed. "He gave it to Minerva. Apparently he had a chat with her when she was captured."

Foaly was quiet, the words taking a minute to sink in.

"How bad is it?" he murmured.

"Anthony, in an attempt to gain her forgiveness, was tricked into being captured. When Claire and I arrived, Myles and his men were already there. Even with three vampires, we didn't stand a chance."

He whistled through his teeth. "This means exposure of the whole vampire race, and possibly the fairies too. This is catastrophic…"

"We've already gone through this lecture," I said dryly. "I need to know what needs to happen to get support of the Council."

"I…I honestly don't know…This involves vampires, not us. We haven't talked to them in centuries, so even if the Volturi were to appeal to us…" I forced myself to ignore the name, even though curiosity was starting to prickle at me.

"At the risk of sounding egocentric, couldn't we make this about me? I've come to your aid a number of times and am an established friend of the People. Couldn't I…?"

"No offense, but half the Council hates you and has been trying to get you mindwiped again for years."

"Of course," I grumbled with a roll of my eyes.

"The only way you'd get their attention would be if somebody got killed or captured or something. I'm joking, though. Don't do something stupid."

I glanced at Holly, who peered at me quizzically. The idea that had surfaced in my mind was quickly discarded and shoved into a figurative drawer.

"No. That's not an option."

"Then you don't have Section 8."

I pressed my lips together as Holly whispered, "What does he want?"

"He says the only way we could receive Council support to rescue Claire and Anthony would be if one of theirs was killed or captured."

"I'll do it."

My eyes narrowed. "No."

"It's perfect! I'll go there, get myself caught and locked up. Mulch will lend me some stuff so that I can break out again, and then we'll have both Section 8 and a person on the inside." Her brown and blue eyes were pleading. "Artemis, from what you're saying, we don't have a choice. If we don't do this, Myles will win and nobody will be safe."

Foaly sighed. "Let me know when you figure something out. Just…be careful?"

"As always, friend," I murmured as I hung up.

The long moment of silence that followed was broken by Richard chuckling, "That's a pretty sick phone. I need to get myself one of those."

My expression remained serious. "About those contacts, Richard?"

He nodded and was gone and back in a heartbeat, a yellow sticky note with a phone number on it in his grasp. "Ask for Edward."

…………………………..

**I'll get another chapter up soon. Please keep reviewing ;)**


End file.
